Mr Mystic Falls
by Lapis Love
Summary: Like love triangles, but what about squares or a pentagon? There are so many men and so little Bonnie, add in a little Damon, Stefan, Klaus and someone else and see what you get.
1. Intro

**A/N: Okay, I saw this twit pic of Kat Graham with Joseph Morgan where she's looking all rapturous while he's aiming to bite her neck, and it sparked this idea. This is AU so sorry no supernatural powers, everyone is just a regular ole human. Just give it a chance and you might like it. Thank you for reading.**

Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

><p>Waiting for the phone to ring could be the most annoying thing in the world, Bonnie Bennett thought as her heels clicked nosily against the laminate floors of Robert E. Lee High as she glared at her iPhone. Two days ago her best friend Caroline Forbes set her up on a semi-blind date with a real estate broker named Wes Brighton. The date had gone well, she figured and he said he would call, but hence, this was day three and she'd yet to hear from him.<p>

Bonnie felt her irritation rising and she certainly didn't want to take it out on the students. Her job as an administrator was simple and straightforward most of the time: make sure the teachers were following the curriculum to the letter to ensure each grade reached their standardized testing goal. If everything went according to plan, there'd be kick back money for the school and Christmas bonuses.

See, simple.

Did that leave her much time for a personal life? Not really. Did she spend most her time cracking down on the lazy, underperforming teachers who only showed up for the paycheck and the benefits, of course. Did she constantly ride the backs of the students who had so much potential but decided to utilize it for mischievously deeds—naturally.

She was a shrew for the good of the people, but of course no one looked at it quite from that perspective.

Bonnie made a lot of sacrifices, her personal life probably being the biggest one. Until that blind date with Wes, it had been months since she felt the butterflies of anticipation flying around in her stomach as she prepared for a date. She needed a maintenance man more than anything because her pipes needed a thorough cleaning. There was tumbleweed rolling between her ovaries and cobwebs cleaving to her uterus.

_Still_, Bonnie thought and sharply turned a corner heading to her office, _Wes should have called back by now._

Her performance at dinner had been stellar, damn near flawless. She laughed at his corny jokes, dressed in red like Caroline had advised, showed her wit and her intelligence in equal measure, and only drank two glasses of wine despite the fact he was trying to get her to consume the entire bottle.

At the end of the night when they were standing on her porch having the awkward conversation before the inevitable first kiss, the moment hit a stutter when Wes smiled revealing he had spinach caught between his front teeth.

Needless to say it was a major turn off.

When his head began to descend, Bonnie felt her gag reflex bobbing up and down in the back of her throat, and at the last second she turned her head to the side and his lips crashed into her cheek.

Okay, so perhaps he felt a little rejected and as such was taking it out on her by not calling.

Whatever.

Bonnie had worked too hard to get where she was. One of the top administrators for the Commonwealth of Virginia before reaching thirty; had published two articles for the Journal of Education, and won a plethora of awards for her skills and hard work. She was accomplished and didn't need to beg some man to call her back.

However, if only she could find an accomplished man so they could have some accomplished kids, her accomplished tableau would be complete.

But Bonnie wouldn't admit to being lonely, no sir-ree; she was content with her singleness and the freedom it brought. When she thought about it, Bonnie didn't have to report to anyone—other than her boss—her comings and goings. And she didn't have to go through the emotional gauntlet of loving someone who took her existence for granted.

Bonnie entered her office glad for the quiet. She always arrived at work an hour before the other faculty wandered in either from a night of grading papers or partying. Her focus was sharper when she didn't have to deal with the repetitive prattle and complaints of the teachers who, unfortunately, had to spend eight hours or more lecturing a room of ungrateful, spoiled kids.

The administrator slapped her satchel on top of her desk and turned on the computer. Sitting down on her executive chair, Bonnie had to amend her last thought. Not all the students who attended Robert E. Lee were privileged. Some of them came from more humble backgrounds and actually enjoyed learning because it was reflected in their class work and test scores.

And she certainly hadn't been born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

Mystic Falls was a suburban plateau almost at the bottom of Virginia; it was the place where the blue bloods of southern living called home.

Most neighborhoods were lined with million dollar homes with half a million dollars cars parked in the driveway.

She didn't live in such dwellings but a nice two story Colonial with her baby sister who of course was a graduating senior—thank God.

Cassie Bennett could work Bonnie's nerves like no one else on the planet, and she was more than glad that their father had set up a college fund for Cassie shortly after her birth. The girl, somehow, someway got accepted into Columbia. So come next September she would be adios, arrivederci, gone from her life.

Not wanting to wait for her system to boot up, Bonnie grabbed her mug and walked the short distance to the faculty break room to start the coffee machine.

After that she'd do her rounds and drop off necessary paperwork to certain teachers who could never remember to turn their grades in on time.

Seriously, if she wasn't here this place would be rubble in twenty-four hours. Mark her words.

Ten minutes later Bonnie sipped her Columbian blend, closed her eyes and enjoyed its warmth as it ran down her throat. How sad that a good cup of coffee could get her closer to orgasm than her last two sexual encounters.

Go figure.

When Bonnie returned to her office, she picked up her oh so trusty clipboard perpetually glued to her hand so she could jot down notes for topics for upcoming faculty meetings, and the stack of authorization forms that needed to be filled out for some of the new hires.

Taking another quick sip, and picking up her cell, she went to do her rounds.

Bonnie hummed quietly to herself and wondered if she could fit in an outlet shopping trip to Pennsylvania this weekend. It could work if Cassie had every intention of sneaking out of the house to spend the night with her boyfriend. _I seriously need to consider nailing her windows shut,_Bonnie thought, but then had to smile.

When she and her friends were in high school everyone treated everyone's house like they were revolving doors. If she wasn't in her bed, she'd either be at Caroline's or Elena's or Tyler's. She and Tyler Lockwood had been heavy in high school so much that everyone expected them to run to the nearest chapel after graduation.

What ended up happening was…Tyler went to a chapel all right. As in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to attend Carolina on a football scholarship leaving her in the cloud of dust the wheels of his Charger kicked up.

Oh, sure he made promises that they'd stay together and have a long distance relationship with him living in North Carolina and she in Washington DC attending Howard.

They broke up within weeks of being in school and neither one looked back.

Now Tyler was working for ESPN, living in New York dating a "professional" cheerleader.

Go freakin' figure.

Bonnie grabbed a hold of the stair railing to maneuver down the short flight of steps in her heels. Flats were her shoes of choice when she was younger, but Caroline, the fashionista of the crew, would literally blow a gasket if she caught Bonnie wearing anything other than three inch heels. So now, stilettos in varying styles and colors were a staple of her wardrobe and even Bonnie could admit to not only feeling and looking taller, but they made her feel powerful and above all sexy.

Almost everyday she'd get a compliment from one of her impressionable students about her shoes.

There was a noise coming from the other end of the hallway. Bonnie stilled and listened. Behind the closed double doors was the school gym.

Football season was over but some of the varsity members continued to use the gym between seasons to stay in shape. Mostly the use of the gym before or after school hours had to be approved by the coach and the principal.

Curious, Bonnie headed in that direction although she should have been heading down the east corridor.

She pushed the door open at the same time a lean body rose from the bench press. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye; another person was working out in the gym as well. Sighing, Bonnie folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot against the floor.

Bonnie wasn't really surprised to find Dr. Death and Mr. Original using the school facilities as if they had a right to. And she wouldn't allow herself to be distracted by the sweat glistening off their hard bodies. No, really she wouldn't.

She cleared her throat and finally caught the attention of Dr. Death.

Eyes the color of a methane flame combed over her appearance before an approving leer flashed on his face. His ink black hair was matted to his head saturated with sweat. His biceps were on full display thanks to his sleeveless shirt that was sweat stained as well.

"Bonnie…good morning," he said cheerily.

"Mr. Salvatore," Bonnie replied curtly and brought her gaze to his companion. "Mr. Mikaelson…is the principal aware of the two of you using the school facilities as if it were your personal gym?"

Damon shrugged a muscled shoulder before wiping the sweat off his face with a towel. "He shouldn't mind, but then I guess it's a good thing I'm the principal's brother."

Bonnie shook her head.

"How much trouble are we in, Miss Bennett?" Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson asked.

Bonnie noticed the repentance was missing on his face. "Enough to get a reprimand from me so far. You have ten minutes to clear out of here, and if you moved anything out of place, put it back."

Damon liked snippy women. It made them much more interesting to unwind in the bedroom. While Bonnie was pretending to scribble something down on the clipboard he was sure she had surgically infused to her hand, he raked his eyes over her again.

In his humble opinion, Bonnie Bennett was one sexy, although uptight woman with an ass that could launch a thousand erections. Today she had chosen to wear a knee-length black pencil skirt, an ivory silk blouse, and blood red peep toe heels. They had been co-workers for the last three years and he never once caught her wearing anything other than obscenely high fuck me pumps, tight skirts, and satin and silk blouses. And her idea of dressing down was skintight jeans and knee high boots. If she wasn't drop-dead gorgeous her outfits would have been flirting with the conservative side.

And of course for the last three years he'd done everything but set her hair on fire to get her to flirt back with him. Bonnie had remained staunchly professional almost on a robotic level that at times Damon didn't think she was human.

"How bout I treat you to breakfast," Damon offered while Bonnie hovered near the door. Her glacial expression didn't alter. "I know this nice little place where you can get a milk carton and frozen French toast sticks for a reduced price," he wiggled his eyebrows, and began to flex his muscles as if he were stretching. "All that working out has made me famished."

Klaus snorted, grabbed his water bottle and enjoyed watching Damon make a fool of himself over the hard-ass administrator.

He had been working as the lone Philosophy teacher at Robert E. Lee for the past year and a half. The students left much to be desired since he was used to teaching more academically gifted children in London, but transferred to the States to keep his sister Rebekah company who happened to be the school counselor.

Klaus had to admit that when he first interviewed for the teaching position, that Bonnie immediately caught his eye. She dressed professionally but sensually, smiled with her whole soul, but could turn into an icy bitch if you crossed her or failed to reach her expectations. He admired women like Bonnie who had a backbone and used it even if it earned her a reputation she didn't deserve.

And because Mystic Falls was such a small community, where everyone was privy to everyone's private business, he knew she hadn't been serious with anyone in a while, and that she was in dire need of an orgasm.

Did Klaus think he was the man to provide her with one? Sure, why not. He was versed in the area of seduction and had had no complaints from past conquests, but Bonnie wasn't the type to engage in a casual affair. If you wanted a piece of her, any piece of her, you'd have to be willing to commit, he knew that.

Men like Damon didn't look at women like Bonnie in those terms. To Damon she was a hurdle to jump, a bridge to cross, a solar system to invade, and nothing more.

Klaus wanted to remind her that her hands could be put to better use than writing detention slips.

Bonnie's smile was sardonic at best. As handsome as Damon was he usually spoiled the fantasy by talking.

"No, thanks I wouldn't want to start a fight amongst your fan club." She stared at her watch. "You now have five minutes, gentlemen."

Bonnie walked out and headed back to her office; her rounds could wait until later. Once alone in her office she closed the door.

She was proud of herself for keeping her eyes above their necks. Bonnie sat down blindly in her chair, spun it around until she faced the wall and unbuttoned two buttons on her shirt, fanned herself.

Was it to her advantage or a curse that she worked along such fine-ass men? Bonnie began to tick them off in her head beginning with her boss Principal Stefan Salvatore. He was only two years older than her, with bluish-gray eyes, wonderfully styled caramel hair, a nice smile and could wear the heck out of a Brooks Brothers suit.

Then there was his older brother Damon who was the personification of tall, dark, and handsome. There wasn't a single girl at REL that didn't have a raging crush on him, and there wasn't a single female teacher or faculty member who hadn't tried to seduce him. Bonnie knew he was the man whore of Mystic Falls because anytime she saw him out and about he was never with the same woman. Okay, so that didn't mean he slept with every single woman he dated, yet Bonnie was sure there was some swap of bodily fluids at some point during an evening spent in Damon's company.

And of course there was Niklaus Mikaelson with his sexy British accent, blood red lips, sandy blond hair that reminded her of the fur of a cocker spaniel and those deep almost navy blue eyes. She had to contain herself every time he said her name. Bonnie was more than certain he could get her to climax just by reciting the Almanac.

When they first met and shook hands, call her silly, but she felt an electric zap between them. She wasn't sure if Klaus had felt the same thing, and naturally she wasn't going to ask, but it had been exhilarating and reminded her she had a pulse after all.

There were countless others who were drool worthy but those three were her unholy trinity. And thank God they were all single—for the most part. So she didn't feel too bad about imagining them strutting around in their birthday suits from time to time.

However, Bonnie had to rudely remind herself she had made a pact once she landed her job as an administrator that she would never mix business with pleasure, and she'd never get involved with _any_of her co-workers. Because she was in the field of education and was responsible for shaping the lives of teenagers, her behavior towards her colleagues would have to be above reproach because she was being watched strenuously.

That being said, Bonnie would only allow herself a slip in fantasy world for a brief moment or two before remembering she had a job and a duty to fulfill and, sorry, but her needs would have to be placed on the back burner.

Once her skin simmered down, Bonnie re-buttoned her blouse and logged onto her email. Several were from parents requesting a follow-up session with the counselor who hadn't returned their original requests.

Bonnie shook her head. Rebekah Mikaelson was Klaus' sister and though she was a licensed practitioner she spent more time updating her Twitter account than helping students overcome test performance anxiety and angst.

In any case, Bonnie was sure there was a law out there somewhere that prohibited siblings and family members from working for the same company in the same department.

Nepotism never went out style around these parts. Bonnie responded to the emails and systematically cleaned out her inbox.

Before she knew it, it was eight-thirty and school was well under way.

The main office was a mad house of complaining students and flustered staff. Bonnie strolled through the chaos with her clipboard and her iPhone determined to make it back to her office to gather her notes for her meeting with Principal Salvatore. She always felt a little bemused calling Stefan, Principal because they went to school together and had hung out a few times when Stefan very briefly dated Caroline.

Mystic Falls wasn't the place of six degrees of separation. More like two or three, everyone was just interconnected and interwoven it was a miracle they weren't all inbred.

"Oh, Miss Bennett?" Kalley the administrative assistant called her.

Bonnie's smile dropped but she turned around and forced her smile back into place. "Yes, Kalley?"

"There's a gentleman here who said he has an interview with Principal Salvatore, but Principal Salvatore was just called down to City Hall for a meeting with the superintendent. Should I reschedule him?"

Bonnie didn't answer because that seemed like a no-brainer to her, but Kalley was fresh out of community college and had very little work experience, so she decided to go easy on her.

"No, if he's here about a position I should probably screen him before we reschedule."

"He's waiting in the hall."

"Thanks, Kalley."

Bonnie walked back out of the office and almost tripped on her feet as her eyes landed on the man sitting down in an uncomfortable plastic chair. He was dressed appropriately for his interview in a black suit, crisp white shirt, black tie, and polished black dress shoes. His dirty blond hair had been cut recently—her studied eye for male anatomy told her that, and he was freshly shaved, smelled of sandalwood and musk.

Bonnie forced her feet to move forward until she stood before the man. He stared up at her with probing aquamarine eyes. They said nothing until Bonnie reached out a hand.

The man rose from his seat, towering above Bonnie and took her hand in his large warm palm. She could feel his calluses rubbing against her skin creating a weird almost sandpaper sensation, but she didn't mind it too much.

"Hi, I'm Bonnie Bennett, Lead Administrator. Our assistant said you had an interview with Principal Salvatore?"

"Yeah, I'm here about the Auto Mechanics position I saw posted on your website."

His accent was a mix of Southern California and Mid-Western. "Yes, we're in need of an instructor for our senior class. Mr. Humphries retired last month."

"Then I guess I'm your man," he smiled cockily.

_Cocky much_, Bonnie thought and realized they were still holding each other's hand. She dropped his, extended her fingers because they were tingling. In the _good _way.

"I'm sorry, but Principal Salvatore had to step out for an off campus meeting. But I can pre-interview you," Bonnie added hastily.

"Good, I have a copy of my resume and references."

Bonnie nodded her head approvingly. "We should take this back to my office," she began to walk but stopped. "Oh, your name?"

He smiled and that smile was dangerous. "Dean. Dean Winchester."

**A/N: This was merely an introduction. If you like this and want to see how this could all become one big ball of hotness or a hot mess let me know otherwise I'm leaving it the way it is. But thanks in advance for reading and leaving me your thoughts. Love you guys!**


	2. Dean

**A/N: Here is the next chapter of Mr. Mystic Falls. I want to give a big heartfelt thanks to those who have read and reviewed. You guys are frickin' awesome! I'm not sure how long this will be but I have decided to dedicate a chapter to all the guys because I personally feel Bonnie has a connection with each one. Up first is Dean although this doesn't really touch on them in an intimate setting but its a continuation of their introduction.**

Disclaimer: These characters are the property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

><p>Bonnie kept her pace steady as she headed back to her office. Dean followed after her and naturally his eyes engaged in their own tour of her womanly assets. She was beautiful, a looker, that was given. The globes of her ass were alluring. Dean had been attracted to several women through his life because he was a hot-blooded virile man so it came with the territory. However, he felt a different vibe with Bonnie. One he couldn't explain at the moment.<p>

Several probing eyes followed his progress through the office. Dean wasn't big on smiling, but he caught the secretary he met earlier gazing at him, and because she had been nice he offered her a smirk.

Bonnie saw Kalley's reaction to Dean and inwardly shook her head. If that girl's eyes were anymore bugged out, Bonnie might have to call the ophthalmologist.

She swung the door open to her office and stepped aside so Dean could enter. When he passed by her, Bonnie caught another whiff of his cologne and resisted by the skin of her teeth not to let her eyes flutter close.

Instead of closing her eyes, she closed her door and was tempted to shut the blinds on all the nosy eyes that were jostling to get a better view of Dean. And if Bonnie had shut the blinds they'd probably think something illicit was taking place. It wasn't that type of party and she had nothing to hide.

Dean took a seat in the chair that was opposite of her desk, and took in his surroundings. Bonnie's office was neat and orderly, not a single sheet of paper out of place. There was no clutter on her desk except her essential tools, and a lone picture frame in which he couldn't see the photograph. When the administrator sat behind her desk and moved some items out of the way, Dean noticed the absence of a ring on Bonnie's finger nor a tan line suggesting one had ever been there.

Things were looking up.

Bonnie cleared her throat and then stretched her hand across the desk. "May I see the copy of your resume?"

Dean slid it out of his portfolio and handed it over to Bonnie.

Her eyes picked over the pertinent information. Well, what she saw so far she had to say she was impressed with his work history.

Dean had worked for the FBI for six years, taught at Westmoreland Academy in Illinois, but left that position after a year. The cherry on top was he served in the Air National Guard.

Someone with his background could have gotten a contract with any branch of government. Why he wanted to be an auto mechanics teacher…well there was one of getting the answer to that question. Ask him.

"I know my work history looks a little schizophrenic," Dean began, "working for the Fed's, then as an instructor of Military Science for Westmoreland Academy, and being in the Air National Guard. I got my bachelor's while serving my country, and I was recommended for my old post with the FBI by my commanding officer. I thought working as an FBI agent I'd be able to do more for my country, but…it turned out to be nothing more than a political merry-go round, and it wasn't how I wanted to spend my time. So I went into teaching, but resigned when new administration came in and completely…" Dean searched his vocabulary for something more appropriate than saying what was on the tip of his tongue.

Bonnie nodded her head. She got the gist of what he wanted to disclose.

"Well my politics didn't mesh with those in charge," a rueful smile blossomed, "and I felt the students would suffer. So I left. Probably not the best decision I could have made, but my integrity was on the line. And you're in this field. You know how ugly education can get."

Their gazes, differing shades of green, locked across the desk.

"Yes, I do know," Bonnie concurred.

From what Dean shared with her it would seem he had no loyalty to his previous employers since he seemed to bail when things got hot. Despite that, Bonnie admired Dean for not compromising his integrity because at the end of the day, he'd be the one who would have to live with the consequences of his actions.

Bonnie went on to ask, "While you were at Westmoreland how do you think your co-workers would have rated your work performance?"

Dean smiled but it wasn't cocky almost self-deprecating. "They probably would say my heart was in the right place, but my corresponding actions left much to be desired. I pushed my students not to think like big kids going through a temper tantrum but like the great generals of the past: Eisenhower, George Washington, Hannibal," he chuckled. "My colleagues and bosses probably thought I was an extremist."

Bonnie could see it just based off how he spoke. Dean wasn't refined. He was rough around the edges yet that didn't prevent his intelligence from being sensed. He was probably smarter than Klaus but didn't flaunt it for obvious reasons.

Bonnie cleared her throat, "How did your time with the Air National Guard shape you as an educator?"

Dean shifted in his seat, placing his right leg on his left so his foot could dangle off his knee.

"The Air National Guard taught me honor, loyalty, how not to give up in the face of adversity. It taught me discipline which is lacking with a lot of today's youth. What I learned with the Air National Guard I tried to bring it into the classroom—sometimes it worked but most of the time it didn't. I was dealing with a special group of kids who got everything they asked for without having to work for it, earn it the hard way. Trying to instill self-worth and above all manners was like pulling an elephant's tooth. But if it weren't for the persistence that was drilled into my head, I would have lost more students than I gained."

Bonnie merely stared at him, and when she realized he was done answering that question and was awaiting her sequential question, she blinked and stared down at his resume to hide her blush.

If the decision was up to her she'd hire him, but Dean would still have to speak to Principal Salvatore who had the final say in matters like this.

Bonnie cleared her throat again, and then did something very uncharacteristic of her. "My dad served in the Air National Guard."

Interest immediately lit up Dean's aquamarine eyes. "Really? Where was he stationed?"

"Mostly in North Carolina. We lived in Alaska very briefly before he retired."

"What does he do now, if you don't mind me asking?"

Sadness reflected in her eyes, Dean noticed and he felt like he inserted his foot in his mouth. But Bonnie shook it away and offered him another smile. She had such nice lips. Very kissable.

"He used to work for a telecommunications company in Petersburg. He passed away last June."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's okay," Bonnie smiled again and felt her nose tingle and her eyes prickle with tears, but she sucked in a deep breath, held it, and released it.

She had been a daddy's girl for ten years, before Cassie arrived on the scene. Their bond was tight like glue, but Edric Bennett died suddenly of a massive heart attack while he was coming home after working a fifteen hour shift.

"So do you have experience with repairing cars?" Bonnie kept the interview rolling before she got stuck in painful memories.

"Yeah, when I was a youngin' I worked in my Pop's garage after school. I could install an engine by the time I was sixteen. Next to my military career, I love fixing cars. There's just a bond that forms between a man and his automobile."

Bonnie caught herself smiling. There was something about the way Dean explained things that drew a picture in her head. She was sure he had a million stories he could tell her and she'd never get tired of hearing him talk. Uh-oh. She had to be objective about this, but she couldn't help but feel drawn to him. Other than what she knew of him on paper, Bonnie was assured Dean had a story to tell and if he was hired, which she didn't think would be that big of a problem, she felt certain boundaries between them would be crossed and she might end up violating her one rule.

She scratched behind her ear and abruptly rose from her seat. "I should give you a tour of the school."

Dean stood up as well. He had a question to pose like: Did he get the job, but instead of asking, he merely followed Bonnie out of her office.

* * *

><p>Rebekah carefully applied black mascara to her lashes while using the web cam on her computer. There was an unusual flux of activity happening outside of her cubicle, but she wasn't that curious to find out what had everyone in a tizzy this morning. More than likely Stefan got a new suit, or Damon was wearing his Jim Morrison leather pants, or her brother did something uncharacteristic like engage in a hotdog eating competition, she wasn't overly concerned with putting her nose in the middle of it.<p>

"Hello, Rebekah."

The blonde almost poked herself in the eye with the mascara wand as her head flew up to see her brother stroll to her cube. His dimples were winking as he sat down on the edge of her desk.

"What are you doing here? You never stop by for a casual visit, and you make more than me so I know you aren't here to borrow money."

Klaus laughed and picked up a paperweight, and began to shift it between his hands.

"For siblings people would think we weren't close by the way you're always suspicious of me."

"Well, you haven't given me much choice, Nik. You pop up out of the blue on my doorstep because London wasn't doing it for you anymore, and the next thing I know you're working at my place of business. Are you after something?"

All humor fled his face. Rebekah knew that look and what it meant. Klaus had never been big on having patience especially if there was something he wanted from someone. Did she miss her brother while he continued to live in England—of course—did that mean she wanted him to cross the Atlantic and invade her life—no.

"I've only been after the same thing I've always been after…repairing our relationship."

Rebekah snorted and closed her mascara. "You could have done that from England."

"You broke the family, Rebekah, but I didn't stop by to rehash our problems, and besides this isn't the place for it," Klaus looked around to see if their impromptu family reunion garnered any attention. It hadn't.

Rebekah folded her arms over her desk. "So why the visit?" A light bulb went off over her head. "I know why you're here. I'm sorry to inform you, mate, but she's not in her office."

Klaus' eyes narrowed whereas Rebekah could hardly keep the haughty smile off her face.

"I don't know what you mean."

An undignified noise passed through Rebekah's lips. "Don't pretend to be dumb; it's not cute and it only works for Damon."

Rebekah was well aware of the fact her brother was hard-up for one standoffish administrator. Poor Nik didn't stand a chance with Bonnie, but it would be amusing to watch.

It was Klaus' turn to make an undignified noise in the back of his throat. Instead of evading the issue he spotted his true reason for paying his sister a visit.

Bonnie stood just outside of the office speaking with a gentleman in a black suit. He watched very closely at her body language. Her stance was professional, but the way she was smiling at the man and the fact she had her head titled possibly at a thirty degree angle made the alarms go off in his head. Whenever Bonnie addressed someone her body was straight like an arrow.

The pair shook hands and Bonnie watched the man exit the premises for longer than she should have. Her smile was still in place as she walked—more like glided through the office.

Rebekah's cubicle was located adjacent from Bonnie's office so she'd have to pass it in order to reach her destination.

"Hi Klaus, hi Rebekah," Bonnie greeted them and sailed into her office.

The Mikaelson siblings exchanged dubious expressions with one another.

"Was she smiling?" Rebekah asked.

Klaus nodded his head. "And did she address me as Klaus and not Mr. Mikaelson?"

Rebekah chuckled. "I do believe she did."

Well this was an unexpected development.

* * *

><p>Cassie Bennett was grounded again. This would make for her fifth time in the last three months she was sentenced to house arrest. Okay, so she shouldn't have spray painted that building; she was doing it for artistic expression and as her senior art project. Did the arresting police officer buy her story? No, he didn't. He just assumed she was a juvenile delinquent with an absentee father and a strung out mother.<p>

Well her father was absentee—he was dead and as for her mother being strung out, if you considered being madly in love with your insanely rich second husband as being strung out, sure she fit the profile. All Cassie had was Bonnie and Bonnie was every younger sibling's nightmare. She was tough, unfair, and totally uncool. It was like she conspired ways to make sure Cassie's existence was miserable simply because she was miserable.

So that's why with her friend Deanne's help, Cassie had formulated a way to get back at Bonnie without coming off as a malicious bitch.

"Bonnie is gonna cremate you when she finds out about this," Deanne warned as she packed up her messenger bag.

Cassie rolled her eyes and took their empty glasses to the kitchen. "No, she's not. In fact she should fall down to her knees and thank me for being the ingenious baby sister that I am. I'm doing this for her own good. Even if it won't come out that way."

"Un-hun. Well I'm off to the mall to buy a black dress for your funeral. See you tomorrow, chica."

Deanne swung open the back door and almost bumped titties with Bonnie as she was preparing to unlock the door.

Both women were surprised to see each other. A condition of Cassie's punishment was she couldn't have friends over unless it was to work on SGA projects or school work. Deanne served on the Student Government Association with Cassie as the treasurer. Cassie was president. But that didn't mean they had been brainstorming prom themes.

"Oh, hey Miss Bonnie. Bye, Miss Bonnie. Cass, I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Drive home safely, Deanne," Bonnie advised and closed the door.

Cassie was pretending to tidy up the living room and kitchen while Bonnie slipped out of her coat, and hung it up in the foyer closet.

Bonnie entered the kitchen and searched through the cabinets for her favorite tea. Out the corner of her eye she examined her younger sister.

Cassie was beautiful and looked like an exact replica of their mother except where Abby Bennett-Worthington had midnight hair and dark green eyes, Cassie had beige hair, beige skin, and beige eyes. The chick was just beige all over.

"What were you and Deanne working on?"

Cassie shrugged a shoulder as she entered the kitchen and turned on the faucet to begin washing the dishes. "You know…compiling the list for the upcoming Mr. Mystic Falls fundraiser."

"What's the count?"

"Right now we have thirty-eight nominees but we have to trim it down to twenty by the end of the month. After that it'll be up to the student body to vote for the ten finalists."

Bonnie stepped beside her sister to fill the tea kettle with water. "Can I make a suggestion?"

Cassie inwardly rolled her eyes. "Sure."

Her tone said she was anything but open to hearing what Bonnie had to say. "Can you try to at least have someone on the list that doesn't look like a retired GQ model?"

Cassie laughed and squirted dishwashing liquid into the sink. "It's not our fault that REL employs some of the hottest men on earth as teachers and staff. We gotta make due with what we have."

Bonnie smirked, turned on the stove and sat the kettle on the eye. "I swear that fundraiser has turned more into a beauty competition for men. It used to be about honoring the educator who made a difference in the community. Not by how he looks in underwear."

Cassie giggled, "That's how it used to be when _you_ were in school ten thousand years ago."

Bonnie popped Cassie on the shoulder as she walked out of the kitchen en route to the connecting living room.

"Watch it, chick," Bonnie warned. "I might be off duty but I can still expel your ass."

As Bonnie settled down on the sofa and removed her shoes, Cassie eyed her for a moment before tossing out her next question.

"So…I heard you interviewed a possible teacher for the auto mechanics class."

Bonnie flicked her gaze towards her sister. "I see good news travels fast," she mumbled. "Yeah, I'm sure you've heard what a babe he is."

That wasn't the only thing Cassie heard about the possible teacher. She heard that her dear sister had given him a personal tour of the school—something she's never done, and that she was all smiles like a school girl with a crush. There was no way she could let Bonnie live it down.

"Does he have the job?" Cassie asked slyly.

Bonnie shook her head, grabbed the remote, and began to flip through channels. "He still has to interview with Principal Salvatore before a formal offer can be made."

"Mmm-hmm."

And if Principal Salvatore asked Bonnie's opinion, which he valued her opinion like it was scripture, and Bonnie gave her stamp of approval Cassie was sure the new guy had the job.

* * *

><p><strong>A month later<strong>

Bonnie stood outside of the auto mechanics classroom, which was more like a garage that had been attached to the south end of the school grounds. Students shuffled out of class bantering back and forth with one another. There was a group of giggling, blushing girls who were comparing notes but they weren't discussing classroom information. Some were a bit surprised to see her and offered mumbled hellos to which Bonnie merely inclined her head. Once the last student left, Bonnie slipped inside.

Dean Winchester was leaning into the open hood of some car that was missing vital parts: doors, a fender, and headlights just to name a few. Bonnie couldn't tell if they were attempting to put it back together like it was a Mr. Potato Head, or they were deconstructing it.

In any case, she found herself zooming in on his backside. Someone hand her a whip!

She cleared her throat and Dean looked over his shoulder at the intruder. Seeing it was Bonnie, he stepped away from the car, picked up a used rag and began to wipe the grease and grime off his hands.

_Eyes, Bonnie,_she admonished herself. Keep your eyes above his neck. Do not look down to see the snugness of his plain white T-shirt as it hugged his abs, or to admire the tightness of his jeans, or that noticeable bulge between his thighs, or the fact he had oil or whatever that was smudged on his arms, and that a fine sheen of sweat coated his hairline.

A dozen different dirty scenarios began to invade her mind. To her left was a stool and if Dean approached her right this instant and bent her over it, she didn't know if she had the strength to tell him to stop.

Bonnie felt her throat tighten uncomfortably and her heart rate unexpectedly spiked. Were her palms beginning to sweat?

Dean openly admired her. His eyes really had no filter and he didn't exercise restraint in regard to remembering they were professional colleagues who were on the clock. Any flirting or other extracurricular activities happening between them could be misconstrued as sexual harassment, but…who would be doing the harassing? But most importantly who would tell?

Bonnie knew for darn sure she wouldn't.

Dean drank in her form. She was dressed as he had come to expect her to dress. She was wearing wide leg charcoal gray pants, a silk blouse, and a sexy pair of stilettos peeked out at him.

Ever since he met her he wondered how soft the rest of her felt. He got a vague idea of that when they shook hands when he came in for an initial interview. Upon his return three days later to interview with the Principal, Bonnie had been making her rounds so he didn't get the chance to see her.

On his first official day, they spoke briefly. She had welcomed him to the REL family, wished him a successful year, and said if there was anything he needed, her door was open.

Hmm.

But other than that they rarely had the opportunity to interact with one another.

"To what do I owe this visit?" he finally said.

"Next week is mid-quarter teacher evaluations. Um…I came by to say I'll be popping up one day next week to observe you during one of your classes. I'm not saying which period or day I'll be here. Just be prepared," she winked at him and then balked. Had she just done that?

Dean's grin was confirmation that she had. Dean approached Bonnie until only two feet of space separated them. His gaze was nothing sort of intimidating as he stared down at her.

Bonnie inclined her head and merely got lost in trying to figure out the exact color of his irises. They weren't hazel-green like hers could be depending on the light. But they weren't emerald. Avocado maybe? Periodot?

From what she gathered from the other teachers, Dean was a man of few words but when he talked many listened because what he had to say was important. To her misfortune, she didn't have much time to talk to him because she had been buried underneath budget paperwork that needed to be submitted to the school board for an upcoming meeting. Bonnie hated the business side to education because it took the fun out of everything, but it was a necessary evil to make sure that if REL wasn't making the grade in a particular area it needed to be addressed and corrected as soon as possible.

"I'm glad you stopped by because there's something I wanted to ask you."

Bonnie perked up but then had to caution herself. _Remember your rule, Bon_.

_Shut up you stupid useless inner voice_.

"Ask away," she replied.

"Have lunch with me."

Bonnie blinked. Just like that? He wasn't going to beat around the bush or use colorful euphemisms to get his point across?

"I-I…" she stammered, "I usually take my lunch in my office."

"I know that. Haven't you ever just wanted to get away from your desk, run off campus, and get a bite to eat?"

"I would if I had the time. The nearest restaurant is twenty minutes away and my lunch is only an hour long."

"Which is why I have the perfect alternative. You can eat your lunch with me in the cafeteria."

Bonnie avoided The Pit, which is what the kids affectionately called it, with everything in her. It was mostly a cesspool of horny and/or hormonal teenagers who were either looking to start a fist or food fight.

Dean could see Bonnie searching her files for a classy way to decline his offer. But he had never been a man who took "no" as the final answer.

"It's just lunch in the cafeteria with a fellow colleague. I ain't proposing marriage, and you did say if there was anything I needed, to ask. I need a lunch…buddy." He wanted to use the word "date" but had a feeling that would only scare Bonnie off.

If she showed up with Dean in the cafeteria tongues would start wagging and her peers would start tweeting. Additionally, if Cassie ever found out, which that girl had a network of spies and gossipmongers, Bonnie might as well put in her resignation because no one would let her live it down.

But she did want to have lunch with Dean. And it was lunch. He wasn't proposing like he said, and he couldn't try anything because they would be eating with two hundred other occupants.

"Sure, we can have lunch together."

Dean beamed in triumph. "Well, let me clean up and I'll meet you outside of your office."

Bonnie nodded her head and then hastily made her exit.

* * *

><p>Damon circled his area of the cafeteria feeling bored. As he strolled past tables and spied what some of the students had packed for lunch, he felt his stomach lurching. How they could eat half of what they considered food was a miracle to him.<p>

Damon had grown up living a privileged life. The Salvatore's were one of the founding families so he was accustomed to servants who oversaw the running of the household, and attending to his every whim. He had tutors and private tennis and golf instructors. He did what he had to but in all he was bored with the constant galas he had to attend and the cotillions. So whenever he could, he'd sneak out of his parents' mansion and head over to the less desirable part of Mystic Falls where he was introduced to alcohol, drugs, and threesomes.

He had had a blast.

Now here he was back in high school working as a history teacher where his brother was the principal. Damon had not seen this coming, nor had his father. Giuseppe wanted him to take over the family business, but Damon wanted no part of corporate America. He was smart, but lacked the drive to use his intelligence to come up with the next software program that would turn the Salvatore dynasty into a household name.

If there was anything he'd change, he probably would have married Katherine Pierce when he had the chance. Katherine had been his high school sweetheart, but he cut ties with her shortly after graduation because he foolishly thought there was someone better out there for him.

Fifteen years later and he was still searching for Misses Damon Salvatore.

_There's hope_, Damon reminded himself as his thoughts changed trajectory. _But she thinks you're a loser and not worth her time._

Damon spotted Klaus on the opposite end of the cafeteria. Wednesdays were their days to patrol the mess hall to thwart any combat plans of the students. The lunch hour was the designated time to slug it out with your arch nemesis because teachers were scarce.

"Hey, Mr. S did you catch the game last night?"

Damon shifted his gaze to the booming voice that called for his attention. Damon headed over to the table filled with jocks.

Klaus watched Damon's animated interaction with the students and didn't envy him. The British import had his favorites amongst the student population, but he usually kept everyone at arm's length. Nevertheless it was plain to see Damon's influence with the student body. There were several guys who tried to emulate his style, and almost every single girl fancied herself in love with the elder Salvatore. In a way Klaus figured it might be a charmed existence, but he wasn't looking for popularity.

"Klaus."

"Principal Salvatore," the two men shook hands.

Stefan sidled next to Klaus, folded his arms, and began to crowd surf.

"Have you made any progress with my grant proposal?" Klaus asked.

Stefan made a face of uncertainty. "I presented it before the board but they didn't exactly look sold on the idea. I'm still working on it."

"Bureaucratic bullshit," Klaus whispered and Stefan wholeheartedly agreed.

The two men stood side-by-side silently watching the students as they ate; some furiously tried to complete homework assignments before the next period while others clowned one another.

"I'll speak with you later," Stefan said and clapped Klaus' shoulder. He walked off in the direction of his brother who was surrounded in a sea of black leather jackets.

Suddenly a hush fell over the cafeteria as all eyes turned toward the entrance. Klaus looked up to see what the disturbance was and his jaw fell open.

Dean stood awkwardly beside Bonnie with a brown paper bag in his hand. He shifted a little closer to Bonnie who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I guess it's true that you _never_eat in the cafeteria," Dean teased.

Bonnie broke her gaze away from all the non-blinking eyeballs that were trained on her and stared up at Dean. "I told you that."

She moved forward looking for an empty table. There wasn't one of course, but she did find two empty seats.

Dean pulled out Bonnie's chair. She mumbled her thanks and hoped her cheeks weren't red because she was blushing. Instead she focused on pulling out her lunch as Dean moved to the other side of the table to sit across from her.

Once he was seated conversations began to start again, and Bonnie felt her ears burning.

Dean watched as Bonnie pulled out a salad. He saw nothing but different types of lettuce, fruit, a tuna melt sandwich, and Vitamin water.

"What?" she asked self-consciously.

Dean tried to contain his chuckle. "You have a very health conscious lunch. Is that how you stay in such great shape?"

Bonnie blushed again and wanted to slap herself. Even high school girls didn't blush as much as she was doing.

"Eating this way keeps my energy up and my mind focused. What did you bring?"

Dean slapped a meatball sub, a bag of chips, and a can of Pepsi on the table.

"I'm a regular meat and potatoes kind of guy," he winked at her.

Damon and Stefan looked at one another and then looked over at Klaus. All of them were dumbfounded.

Klaus was a little outraged because he had asked Bonnie to eat lunch with him when he first started teaching at REL to which she declined sprouting she had an aversion to eating in the cafeteria because she liked her privacy. And she wasn't one to mix business with pleasure.

Well apparently she lied or the attraction he thought was between them was one-sided.

Damon didn't think he was seeing things properly. He searched the cafeteria for a particular person and to his dismay he saw her amongst her posse. So the woman who entered The Pit with Dean Winchester wasn't Cassie, it was in fact Bonnie Bennett.

"What the hell is she doing?" Damon demanded suddenly.

Stefan, surprised by his brother's outburst merely shrugged his shoulders. Bonnie had been his right-hand man for the last four years. He knew her backwards and forwards but he _never_saw her interact with any of her male colleagues even if it was in a professional setting. For her to agree to lunch and especially to lunch in the cafeteria said she was doing more than making a new hire feel welcome.

"Excuse me," Stefan said shortly and crossed over to the new couple.

Bonnie had been candidly open with one person—him. When her father passed and Stefan caught her weeping in an empty classroom one day, she finally let her guard down, let her veneer crack like glass, and showed real, raw emotion. That event had been so profound he found himself looking at her through new eyes. But the best part of that sad day was the fact she trusted him enough to allow him to hold her while she got her cry out.

Maybe that day Stefan had fallen a little in love with her, but the next day it was back to business as usual between them. However, from time to time they would have intimate conversations and he got to see other parts to her personality.

Now, Bonnie was violating the one rule she had in place and she had chosen to do so with a guy who was probably so far below her standards, Stefan couldn't let her go out like that. He'd pull rank if he had to.

And he wasn't stupid he knew Damon had a boner for Bonnie and Klaus as well.

Bonnie straightened up when she saw Stefan heading her way.

He was smiling but it wasn't his usual Stefan smile more like a smile a lion would flash to a gazelle before eating it.

"Ms. Bennett, Mr. Winchester," Stefan greeted cordially.

Dean rose from his seat and stuck out a hand, "Principal Salvatore. Pleasure to see you."

"How is everything coming along? You adjusting well?"

"Yeah, it's been a smooth transition thanks to people like Bonnie."

Both men turned their awe-inspiring eyes on her. She merely smiled.

"She is the best," Stefan complimented. "Please," he held out a hand towards Dean's chair indicating for him to retake his seat. "I didn't mean to interrupt your lunch, but Ms. Bennett could you come to my office once you're done?"

Bonnie felt her stomach bottom out. She was in trouble. She knew she should have declined Dean's lunch invitation. Nothing good ever happened to her whenever she came to The Pit. Bonnie began to have a flashback to her first time monitoring The Pit. A mob had broken out and someone broke her toe during the stampede.

"Yes," Bonnie answered and attempted to finish her salad and tuna melt.

Once Stefan walked off, Dean stared at Bonnie in concern. "Did I get you into trouble?"

"No," she was quick to say. "He probably just wants to discuss some administration stuff."

Dean wasn't convinced but decided not to push the issue.

The loud squawk of a microphone made several people groan and cover their ears. Bonnie looked towards the west end of The Pit and saw Cassie and several other members of the SGA convene near the DJ table.

"Hi, guys as you know I'm Cassie Bennett, president of the SGA and we have finally tabulated the scores and have the 2011-2012 nominees for the Mr. Mystic Falls fundraiser!"

Cheers, jeers, screams, and whistles filtered the air.

"First I want to say that the pool was very competitive this year and a lot of our awesome teachers and faculty were nominated, and each one deserves the coveted title of being the personification of this great town. The man you select will be a man who has given his time, talent, and yes—money to help community projects that enrich the lives of others.

"This year we've decided to do something a little differently. The winner of the Mr. Mystic Falls fundraiser will not only have a scholarship set up in his name, and have bragging rights for the year, he will also escort someone who is very near and dear to all of us, to the annual Lyme Disease Foundation gala at the end of the year."

Bonnie felt her eyes widened. _She wouldn't…_

"So that man, whoever is crowned the victor…will escort none other than my lovely _older_ sister Ms. Bonnie Bennett to her favorite charity event where the two will have a private dinner plus a photo shoot for the Lyme Disease website."

Bonnie's head catapulted off her shoulders and entered the stratosphere. Cassie was setting her up! Not out of the goodness of her heart but to get back at her.

"Cassie," Bonnie growled.

Dean was whistling and clapping with everyone else. Bonnie wanted to turn into goo and fall through the holes of the nearest manhole cover.

"Come on everybody let's give it up for my sister!"

All eyes were focused on Bonnie.

Cassie grinned like the cat that ate canary. Sure Bonnie would probably try to assassinate her in her sleep, but it would be worth it. Now she knew what it felt like to be humiliated in front of her peers.

"Now on to the nominees," Cassie continued and began reading names off the list. "Here is your top ten."

Bonnie blanked out the noise that was surrounding her. Of course she heard the usual suspects Stefan, Damon, Klaus, but there was one which not only surprised her but her eating companion as well.

"Me?" Dean was perplexed. "I just started teaching here."

Bonnie looked at him through tired eyes. "Doesn't matter. This isn't a competition about community service or fundraising but about hotness."

Bonnie grabbed her garbage and stood up. "You've officially been inaugurated. Congratulations."

Damon's piping irritation began to evaporate as Cassie began to read off what the winner stood to gain; a private dinner with Bonnie and a photo shoot. He was one of the nominees which came as no surprise, and if he won it would give him the opportunity to convince Bonnie he wasn't as wretched as she pegged him to be. Damon wasn't concerned about Klaus or Dean. Stefan didn't even compute because he won last year and the students didn't like repeats.

Klaus was too intellectual for them and he wasn't completely personable, but he did have dimples. Dean was a newbie and there might be some novelty, but since the students probably speculated he was already dating Bonnie, they wouldn't help her out in that regard by setting her up with her boyfriend.

Nope, he had this competition in the bag!

_Let the games begin,_Klaus thought. He knew the parameters of the competition and that the students voted, not based off how many good deeds you performed, but by the cut and style of your clothes, how approachable you were, and above all—in terms of the girls—how many wet dreams you caused. He didn't want to go the route of playing an airbrushed airhead, but if he had to dumb himself down to get the vote, he'd do it because the reward was too great to ignore.

Dean just didn't care. He could get a date with Bonnie anytime he wanted as evidence by the fact he got her to agree to have lunch with him. He didn't need some beauty competition to help him in that department.

"I need the nominees to come see me ASAP," Cassie said and turned off the microphone.

All three men began to head towards Cassie. Each of them sizing one another up while transmitting the same message: Game on.

Chapter end.

**A/N: Who wouldn't want to be in Bonnie's position right now? In upcoming chapters I'll explain more about the fundraiser because right now its painted as a pageant or popularity contest which is what it's been turned into over the years, but that's not what it's about. Next up is BAMON! And you'll love it I promise. Thank you for reading. I know not too much friskiness happened in this chapter, I'm taking things slow, but it will heat up from time to time. Let me know what you think. Love you guys!**


	3. Damon

**A/N: Hi Guys...thank you for your patience. I had pages written for this chapter but then I kind of got stuck. There isn't much fluff or lemons for that matter (so sorry) I'm kind of taking things slow with Ms. Bennett. But here is BAMON goodness and I hope you like it. Thank you for all the reviews for the last two chapters and for reading!**

Disclaimer: These characters (except Dean) are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyrighr infringement is intended.

Bonnie almost drove the hubcaps off her car as she raced down the streets of Mystic Falls to make it to her house in record time. She pulled into the driveway behind Cassie's car, forgot to unbuckle her seat belt before attempting to climb out of the car, so she found herself being yanked backwards. Growling and cursing, she disengaged herself from the seat, slammed her door with enough force to shatter the window, and barreled inside the house.

"CASSIE!" Bonnie bellowed as she threw her purse and portfolio on the kitchen table and stomped through the house looking for her sister.

She spotted the bane of her existence slowly coming down the stairs with both hands behind her back. Good she was already in the right position to be roughed up.

Cassie gulped nervously but kept her face blank and complacent. Making it through the rest of the school day had been nothing short of a miracle because at every turn and corner she was sure Bonnie would come out of the shadows ready to throw down.

When they were younger they engaged in their fair share of shouting matches and petty fist fights that didn't really result in any serious injuries, just superficial scratches and missing chunks of hair.

The two of them had given their father enough gray hairs that he almost had a head full of white before he reached his fifty-fifth birthday. When their father passed they made a vow to have each other's back and to get along, but now it would seem that truce was coming to an abrupt end.

As mean spirited as Bonnie might mistake her plan for, all Cassie really wanted was for Bonnie to wake up and realize she didn't have a life. She woke up, went to work, came home, went over reports, went to bed, only to do the same routine over and over again. Sure she might had periods were she went on shopping trips to Aspen, New York, New Orleans, and Los Angeles with her two best friends from high school, but those were quarterly trips.

Bonnie worked along fine-ass Damon Salvatore with those eyes and that ink-black hair, and fine-ass Klaus with those deep blue eyes, curly blonde hair, and those edible dimples, and she worked under that fine-ass principal Stefan Salvatore with perfect hair and trim body. Cassie would commend her sister for remaining impartial and professional, but seriously girlfriend's coochie had to be drier than the Gobi Desert at noon. If she went sunbathing she might start a forest fire with her bush.

And not only that, but Bonnie apparently showed some interest for the new teacher Dean Winchester who was just as yummy in his own right. This only proved Cassie had been right in orchestrating this whole thing in turning her sister into the real prize.

"You called," Cassie asked.

Fire was literally coming from Bonnie's narrowed eyes as she folded her arms tightly over her chest to keep from reaching out and wrapping her hands around Cassie's throat.

"What gave you the right to auction me off without my expressed consent? Those are my colleagues! I will NOT be caught in the middle of this…"

"This what?" Cassie walked down the remainder of the steps until she stood only a foot away from her sister. "It's a wonderful community service opportunity."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. She knew better. "This is nothing but you and the SGA's attempt to play The Bachelorette at my expense. I do not appreciate being made a fool of."

"Oh, I'm sorry but has anything bad happened to you since my announcement? Has anyone come up and thrown egg on your face, called you out your name, or threatened you with bodily harm?" Cassie cupped her ear awaiting Bonnie's response. None followed. "I didn't think so."

"Stefan is my boss and the others…in a roundabout way I'm their boss. Cassie…this could turn ugly."

"How so?" Cassie asked as she walked into the living room. "So what you'll have ten hot men vying for the chance to have a private dinner with you. If anything you should be on cloud nine because correct me if I'm wrong, but the last date you went out on was with a dentist…"

"He was a real estate broker."

"Whatever. And has he made any attempt to contact you for a second date?" Again Cassie waited for Bonnie to answer her question. She smiled smugly when Bonnie could only shake her head. "If I were you I'd use this to my advantage. Don't worry about the guys, let them eliminate themselves. All you have to say is jump and they'll ask how high and you know they're gonna go all out for the community to impress you so this is a win-win situation for everyone. People will donate their time and money to the Lyme Disease Foundation, and you won't be stuck in this house on another lonely Friday and Saturday night ever again."

"I'm not going out with them beforehand."

Cassie snickered. "You know they're going to find creative ways to get you alone. And…I may have told them you were going to select the winner."

Bonnie's jaw dropped and her mouth began to collect flies. "You have…completely mortified me."

"You're not mortified, you're excited. Just remember, you set the rules and the pace. Nothing will happen that you don't want to happen. You're in control," Cassie winked at her older sister. "Besides I want to become an auntie before I reach twenty-five."

Bonnie sighed and brushed her bangs off her face only for them to fall back into place. "I knew you were going to find some way to turn this into something about you."

"And I wouldn't be me if I didn't. I'm looking out for all of our interests, Bonnie. Don't make this more difficult than it has to be," Cassie smiled at her sister and walked off to the office, but paused at the door to turn back to face Bonnie one last time. "Go ahead and curse me out to Caroline. I can tell you right now she'll be in full support of my evil plan."

Five hours later Bonnie stood in front of her vanity mirror brushing the curls out of her hair. She stared blankly at her reflection replaying her earlier conversation with Cassie over in her mind. This was a set up that could have a wonderful pay off if only she'd be willing to see it all the way to the end. But Bonnie didn't want to be used as a pawn nor wanted to treat anyone else like a pawn. Next week was teacher evaluations and she had to focus on that and be as objective as possible.

And Cassie must have been clairvoyant because when Bonnie finally sucked it up and called Caroline who then connected them with Elena to have a three-way conference, she was practically squealing like a pig over the phone.

"Let me ask you a real frank question," Caroline began in that tone Bonnie could only classify as this is going to embarrass you but I don't care. "When was the last time you had sex, and I mean paint melting off the walls, I can't walk straight, I think my back really _is _broken sex?"

Bonnie's eyes had bulged and she nearly dropped the cordless phone. Her face was burning and flushed and her ears began to ring. She was glad she wasn't out in public because someone might've thought she was having a heart attack.

Elena had been no help. She merely giggled in the background.

Bonnie choked on her own saliva in her efforts to answer the question. "I'm not sure if I've ever had sex quite the way you've described it."

"And that's a shame because you are one hot tomalley. I've met Stefan's brother and my goodness he wouldn't even have to speak to get me on my back."

"Caroline," Bonnie's tone was reproachful.

"I've been away from Mystic Falls too long," Elena said. "If there's a man out there who looks that good that Caroline wouldn't even bother to ask his name before handing over the panties. I've been missing out."

Caroline laughed. "You know I seriously wouldn't screw him without getting the basics out of the way, but I'm just saying. Bonnie I'm not suggesting you become a hoe, just have a little fun, but only with the one or ones you deem are worthy of a little…affection."

"Elena your thoughts?" Bonnie believed in getting second and sometime's third opinions on such matters.

"Well, I wouldn't advise you go the route Caroline might take," there was an indignant snort that came from Caroline. "But…a little flirting wouldn't hurt. And Cassie is right…when guys are competing for a woman's attention, they're liable to do anything to impress you and it may benefit the community greatly. Just take it slow and follow your instincts."

Such a typical Elena response, Bonnie thought.

"Okay so if you had to choose a winner right now, who would you pick?" Caroline asked.

Bonnie thought for a minute. She wouldn't base her answer on looks alone but what she's seen of the nominees' work ethic.

"Klaus," Bonnie answered unequivocally.

"Is he the sexy Brit?" Elena said.

"Yes, he would be the one. And I chose him because he values education and he helps his students by giving them assignments which causes them to think."

"But you can't refute Damon's hotness," Caroline went back to what in her estimation was the most important fact.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Yes, Damon is hot. Big freaking deal."

"Stop acting like you haven't thought about him naked," Caroline teased. Bonnie wasn't going to own up to that not even to her two best friends.

"But how am I supposed to pull this off and keep my integrity intact?" Bonnie wondered.

Elena suggested, "Just use us for inspiration. If you find yourself getting stuck and not knowing how to act accordingly, just ask yourself what would Caroline or Elena do in a situation like this."

"You're trying to make something out of nothing, Bon," Caroline interjected. "It won't be a horrible experience and who knows something really wonderful could happen between you and one of the nominees."

They grew silent for a moment, each women brewing in her own thoughts.

"Well, ladies I have to be on set at four a.m. I'm afraid this is adios for me," Elena yawned into the phone.

For a second Bonnie found herself envying Elena's life. She was a professional and international model who was currently starring in her first major film.

"All right, Lena. I'll talk to you soon," Bonnie said.

"Love you guys." She disconnected the call and it was Caroline and Bonnie who stayed on the phone for an additional hour.

Bonnie sat her brush down and finally padded her way to her bed. The minute her body hit the cool sheets, and she lied on her back staring up at the ceiling she wondered if she would be in violation of any personal conduct codes if she were to do as her best friend and sister suggested. Maybe but then again maybe not.

But it was easy for her friends to agree with Cassie because the only men problems they had were having too many suitors at one time.

Caroline was the fun one. She's the girl who went rock climbing in the Yucatan, sky diving, bungee jumping, and white water rafting. Elena was the exotic and tall one who tried to not play into stereotypes that haunt beautiful women, and Bonnie was the supportive one, the designated driver, the responsible one. They had filled those roles since high school and maybe now, she was getting sick of it.

Bonnie had never done a real bad thing her whole life except for maybe losing her virginity after her second date with Tyler and cheating on a test or two, but other than that her record was squeaky clean.

If she fooled around with any of her colleagues it would definitely dirty it up, but…still she was finding it hard to want to change her spots. Some habits were harder to break than others.

* * *

><p>The following week Bonnie stared at the three manila folders that were spread out on her desk. It was time for teacher evaluations and she wondered whose classroom she should start with first. She eyed their names: Damon, Klaus, and Dean.<p>

"Let's get this over with," Bonnie picked up Damon's folder. She'd start with him to catch him off guard because more than likely he'd figure she'd save him for dead last as her own way of avoiding him. And she wouldn't get to his classroom ahead of time so he could act like a caring teaching for her benefit alone. Her tactic would be to arrive five minutes after the final bell had wrung. By that time the students should be settled down and he should either be taking roll or picking up with his previous lesson.

Since it was mid-morning he was with the junior students teaching them World History.

Bonnie's heels clicked against the polished floors as she briskly walked to the history wing of REL. When she stood outside of room 112, her heart annoyingly wanted to kick into gear. Bonnie pulled down her chenille v-neck sweater, and ran a hand over her knee length leather skirt. It wasn't until now she realized she had dressed in all back, the only splash of color being her zebra print strappy heels with the red sole.

Clearing her throat, she twisted the knob and walked into Damon's classroom.

Heads swiveled in her direction but she kept her emerald eyes trained on Damon, who for some reason had been waving a yard stick around like it was a magic wand.

Surprise was apparent on his face and he tried his best not to ogle her in her daring ensemble.

"Well, class it would appear we have a special guest. Ms. Bennett, please join us."

"Don't mind me. I'm just here for your classroom evaluation." She held his folder up in her hand.

Damon attempted to smile but mostly resembled as if he sucked a sour lemon. He then shifted his attention to one of his students who was seated on the front row near a bank of windows.

"Castle let Ms. Bennett have your seat."

The student grumpily moved to another seat in the far back of the room.

Bonnie said nothing, only clicked and clacked her way to the vacant seat and quickly sat down.

Damon cleared his throat. She was wearing his favorite heels, the ones he fantasized about her wearing while her legs were thrown over his shoulders. His concentration was totally blown and he certainly couldn't follow through with his original lesson plan which had been to show a movie about the tragic life of Anne Boleyn. Now he'd actually have to teach. Yuck.

"Okay class," Damon said, grabbed his textbook and sat on the edge of the desk. "Open up your books to page…well wherever it talks about Henry VIII's Act of Succession."

The students stared at one another puzzled for a moment because they had been expecting to pass the time watching a movie. Damon threw covert looks around pleading with them to act like this had been the plan from the very beginning.

He glanced at Bonnie who was seemingly ignoring him as she scribbled in his folder on that forsaken clipboard. But since she was busy doing that, he ran his eyes over her again delighting in the fact the v-neck of her sweater was cut low enough exposing an ample amount of cleavage. Her foot dangled like a pendulum and soon he found his thoughts tumbling to his happy place, and it wasn't until the numbing silence of the room reminded him he was in his classroom and not at a bar where having those type of illicit thoughts were welcomed.

Bonnie listened to the cadence of his voice, to the jokes he cracked, and to his thorough knowledge of Tudor England. His class responded to his questions half seriously and half jokingly, but in all he had command of his classroom.

When the bell rung, Bonnie stretched her stiff shoulders and watched as a few students lingered around hoping to question him about makeup assignments and quizzes. Damon tried to appear to be firm in adhering to the policies that had been erected when it came to such matters, and from the glances that were cast her way, Bonnie figured Damon would give them a break when the coast was clear.

Once the room was clear of students, Bonnie rose from the seat but left her materials on the desk. She walked over to the door, and closed it.

Damon watched her with a curious eyebrow cocked in the air. He retook his seat on the edge of his desk.

Bonnie swung back around but leaned up against the door and folded her arms over her torso.

"How badly did I suck?" he asked.

"You didn't suck. I've noticed a vast improvement from your evaluation from last year. You were able to stay on topic and asked more thought provoking questions to your students. They appear to respect you as an educator."

If he wasn't mistaken those were the most compliments Bonnie ever paid him in their three-year history. Damon tried his best to keep the smugness off his face.

Bonnie pushed away from the door and approached him. Part of her felt like she was strutting on a catwalk.

When she approached him Damon was assaulted with the enticing scent of her perfume. She was standing so close he could feel her body heat, but there was still enough distance between them for propriety sake.

"Can I see your lesson plan for today?" she asked softly. Bonnie peered into his eyes, such pretty eyes, but then her gaze dropped to his mauve lips as he unconsciously licked them.

Damon said nothing for a second as he drank her in. Bonnie didn't blink.

He swiftly rose from the corner of the desk, dug around in his satchel for his trusty planner and forked it over to Bonnie.

"Hmm," she said after reading his surprisingly elegant script. "They were supposed to watch a movie _Anne of a Thousand Days. _Good cinema but the story isn't completely accurate. National Geographic's documentary _The Six Wives of Henry VIII _would have been better."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Bonnie handed his planner back to him.

Damon smirked. "So do I still have a job?"

Bonnie by this time was making her way to collect her things. "For now," she said once her clipboard was in her possession and made her way out of the classroom. His eyes were planted on her smooth caramel legs and suddenly all Damon was in the mood for a Milky Way.

"Have a good day, Mr. Salvatore."

* * *

><p><em>You don't give yourself enough credit sometimes, Bonnie, <em>were her innermost thoughts while she did her rounds, popping in on teachers, calling specific students to her office for follow-ups. Just an hour before school was set to end, Bonnie looked up from her computer screen to see Damon sailing into the office. He flirted with Kalley, winked at Ms. Barnes the school nurse who was old enough to be his great-grandmother, told a raunchy joke to Rebekah who laughed with that haughty English lilt of hers, and finally barged his way into Stefan's office.

Bonnie snorted and went back to cleaning out her in-box. Her cell phone beeped and she checked her text message. Cassie was asking for permission to head over to Deanne's to study for their upcoming Spanish exam. With her sister gone Bonnie could enjoy a nice quiet evening, but she was of course suspicious. Cassie and Deanne only studied certain subjects that had nothing to do with academia: boys, clothes, and movie stars.

She texted her back laying down the law and reminding her sister that if she found herself in another lie, then its boarding school in Lithuania for her.

A quick knock sounded on her door. Bonnie looked up sharply. It was Dean.

"Hey, come in," she smiled.

Dean was dressed in his usual uniform of jeans, a plain white T-shirt, and Timberland boots.

"I wanted to catch you before you headed out…but next week I'll need a sub. I got some bad news from back home. One of my old Air Guard buddies passed away."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Dean. Sure take all the time you need."

"I'll just need a couple of days. I hope this won't tarnish my record considering I've only been working here for a month."

Bonnie rose from her seat, pushing her leather skirt down and smoothing out any wrinkles in her sweater. It was with great effort Dean was able to keep his eyes above her neck.

"Don't even worry about that. You've been exceptional since you've been here. You have the best attendance rate so far."

Dean chuckled and so did Bonnie. They weren't dumb. They understood the reason for that.

"You gonna be all right while I'm gone?" he asked.

Bonnie looked confused for a moment. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Dean shrugged a muscular shoulder, the movement causing his shirt to hug his muscles more. Bonnie unconsciously licked her lips.

"Ever since the announcement has been made about the whole Mr. Mystic Falls pageant," his words dripped with disdain and was complimented with an eye roll. Bonnie giggled. "Something tells me you've been dunked into a shark tank."

Bonnie waved a hand in the air to dismiss his concern. "It's not as bad as it might sound. So far there haven't been any grand gestures, and no one has sent me a singing telegram. That being said…I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Good. Well…I guess this means I'll see you when I get back."

Bonnie nodded her head. "Okay. Have a safe trip, Dean."

He winked at her and left her office. Dean and Damon nearly collided into each other, but were able to avoid that. The two men grumbled something Bonnie couldn't hear, but those sitting out in cubicles heard and began to chuckle. Bonnie snorted and went back to her desk.

Not a second later there was another knock on her door.

Of course it would be Damon.

"Yes, Mr. Salvatore?"

Damon rolled his eyes. Geeze, when was she going to get over this being formal thing and not call him by his government name?

"What's so hard about calling me Damon? Mr. Salvatore is my father."

Bonnie stared at him drolly and clicked out of her email. According to the clock it was time for her to go.

"Habit," Bonnie answered honestly and began to collect her things.

"Oh, good you're on your way out. So am I."

"I'm sure that's wonderful for you, but did you need something in particular?"

"No, just wanted to say hello to my favorite administrator."

"I'm the only administrator."

"Which is a shame because you're being overworked and underpaid. I've been harassing Stefan for _years_ on your behalf to get him to hire someone else so that you'll have time to have dinner with me."

Bonnie chuckled. Damon really thought he was slick but this she had come to expect from him. She guessed she should be flattered but it was hard to take the town's womanizer seriously.

Damon stepped fully into her office. It smelled like her, fresh, light, and airy. _I bet her bedroom smells awesome too._

Damon was standing next to her coat rack so she had no choice but to cross over to him. When she did, he snatched her pea coat and held it open for her. Bonnie kept her face passive as she allowed Damon to slip her coat on, but she slapped his hands away when he attempted to button it.

"I'm not three years old, Damon."

"Yes," he cheered and did a fist pump. "You called me by my first name. Progress," he grinned.

Bonnie could do nothing but shake her head.

"So do you have any plans for tonight?" Damon asked.

Bonnie retrieved her purse and satchel and clicked off the light to her office. Damon began to follow her.

"Yes. I plan to cook a nice meal, relax and enjoy the solitude of my house. Cassie is supposedly going over to her friend's to study. I might tell her to spend the night."

"I wholeheartedly second that."

Bonnie ignored him and was about to open one of the double doors to the main entrance, but Damon did so for her. The motion caused their bodies to draw closer together, and her coat sleeve brushed against his chest.

_He smells good, _Bonnie thought and cleared her throat. It had been too long since she smelled a man's scent on her own skin.

Earlier the air outside was tepid but had fallen dramatically. Bonnie clutched the lapels of her coat together as she hustled her way to her car. She looked over at Damon who wore nothing heavier than his leather jacket.

Today she noticed he parked his Harley right beside her Prius.

"And what about you…Damon?" she was only asking to be polite but really she could careless.

Damon shrugged. "I thought I had dropped enough hints back in your office, but perhaps I was a little too subtle."

Bonnie stopped walking which Damon had no choice but to follow suit as well. He stared down at her while she looked up at him.

"You're asking me out?"

She was gifted with a "duh" expression from Damon. "Has it been that long?" he asked with all seriousness. It was a miracle Bonnie was able to keep her hands to herself and not strike his chest like she wanted to do. That wouldn't have set a good example for the few students who were loitering around waiting for their parents to pick them up. And she certainly didn't want to be led away in handcuff for assault.

Not like Damon would press charges against her.

"Damon you know my rule."

"And it's a dumb one if you ask me."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and continued on to her car. When she drew closer Bonnie sighed heavily and felt herself about to whine. Not one but two of her ties were flat.

"You've got to be kidding me," she slammed her belongings down on the trunk of her car.

"Well, that isn't good. You got AAA?" Damon asked over her shoulder.

Bonnie felt her irritation flaring up. This wasn't something she needed to deal with.

"Yes, but by the time they get here…"

"It'll be dark. I can give you a ride."

"On your Harley?" Bonnie scoffed. "Have you forgotten I'm wearing a skirt?"

By the sinister grin that popped out on his face, no he hadn't forgotten.

_Keep yourself open, Bonnie. _

For a second she thought about going back and getting a ride with Dean or Stefan for that matter, but Stefan wouldn't be leaving for another three hours, and Dean might have already split and it wasn't like she had his cell phone number. Klaus was another option but she knew he sometime's carpooled with Rebekah and she certainly wanted to keep that relationship contained between the hours of seven to three.

Bonnie looked back up into his cerulean eyes. "Fine. Let's go."

Damon kept his expression completely neutral merely held out his hand for Bonnie to proceed in front of him. She hesitated for a moment because she had her bag and her purse. So Bonnie dumped her satchel in her trunk. It didn't have any personal information and it wasn't like she was going to work on anything once she made it home.

Damon straddled his bike and waited for Bonnie to climb on. She hiked her skirt up as high as it could go under her coat and tentatively climbed on. She held him as loosely as possible and thought at the last second to ask him if he had a spare helmet.

"Nope," he said and throttled the engine and careened out of the parking lot.

Several people watched with dropped chins and looks of disbelief.

Bonnie was proud of herself, she didn't scream but did cling on to Damon for dear life as he took turns at fifty miles an hour. She felt like she was having an outer body experience. Here she was riding on the back of Damon Salvatore's bike, dressed as his twin in all black, clinging to him, feeling…dare she say it excited because she was living out a deep, dark fantasy.

Focus, Bonnie. It's just a ride to your place. The two of you aren't going to burn rubber off into the sunset.

About ten minutes into the drive that's when Bonnie became aware that he wasn't driving her to her neighborhood.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked the minute they were stopped at a red light.

"You gotta eat," he replied.

"Damon…."

She frowned the whole way until they pulled up outside of one of her favorite restaurants: Adele's.

Damon helped Bonnie off the bike, and it took a moment for her to find her equilibrium because all she felt was the vibration of the motorcycle between her legs. Caroline would definitely be proud of her. The couple made their way inside the dimly lit restaurant where the smell of southern comfort food assaulted her nostrils and made her empty stomach flare to life.

They were given priority seating because—yes—Damon knew the hostess. They were showed to a private booth in the middle of the restaurant.

Bonnie smiled as she eyed all the choices in the menu.

"Something tells me you've been here before," Damon said as he slipped out of his leather threads.

Bonnie was momentarily distracted by his biceps. "My dad used to bring me and Cassie here every Sunday after church. He wasn't a very good chef. Burned almost everything he attempted to cook."

"Yeah, my parents are more 'let's have dinner catered kind of people'. I think my mom accidentally found the kitchen one day when she was looking for the linen closet."

Hearing that made Bonnie laugh. She knew the Salvatore's were one of the wealthiest families in Mystic Falls, and she could admire Stefan and Damon for not behaving as pretentious, elitists booty holes. They were down-to-earth, in Damon's case too much so.

Their waiter came to the table and took their drink orders. Bonnie was surprised when Damon ordered a pitcher Adele's world famous peach iced tea.

"Thought I was going to order a beer," he winked at her.

Bonnie smiled and demurely stared down at her hands. "Or a bottle of Jack."

"Cuz when I leave for the night I ain't coming back," he sang.

Bemused, Bonnie looked at him. "Why do you know the lyrics to Tik Tok?"

Damon shrugged. "You forget that most of the students I teach are hormonal females who live by these four gospels: Beiber, GaGa, Ke$ha, and Taylor Swift."

_Right._

Pause. "So why aren't you serious with anyone?"

Bonnie's eyes bulged. "Aren't we a little direct and above that nosy?" She made a steeple of her hands on top of the table. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I asked you first."

Bonnie sighed. "My career is my relationship."

"It can't hold you at night," Damon retorted.

"Ah, yes and because the satisfaction of working can't possibly be enough for a single woman in her late twenties; there must be something wrong with her." her tone had definitely become defensive.

Damon held up his hands in surrender. "I wasn't implying that at all. It's just that you're not unfortunate in the looks department. I just find it a little astonishing you aren't with anyone."

"And what about you? I swear as often as I see you outside of REL, I've never seen you with the same woman twice."

His grin was sly. "I like to keep my options open. Besides…they're just fillers. I have someone else in mind to occupy the Misses Damon Salvatore position." He stared pointedly at Bonnie who averted her eyes after a tense moment.

Damon looked up briefly to acknowledge the waiter when he returned with their drinks.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Ladies first," said Damon.

"May I have a half slab of beef ribs, fried apples, and steamed cabbage?"

"You, sir?"

"I'll have what she's having."

The waiter disappeared leaving them alone.

"I thought you were into holistic and organic food?" Damon asked.

Bonnie nodded her head and took a sip of the delicious iced tea. "I am, but every once in a while I do like to pamper myself. So do you eat whatever and burn it off in the gym?"

His eyebrows wiggled. "You've been checking me out."

Bonnie cut her eyes at him.

"I have a varied appetite…whatever I'm in the mood for that's what I go out and eat. Believe it or not I do know how to cook. Stefan is the hopeless one. He's the one who's definitely going to have to marry a woman who can burn in the kitchen otherwise…" Damon shook his head. "It'll be a disaster."

"So other than cooking, running your mouth, and telling off color jokes, what else are you good at?"

Damon leaned across the table and lowered his voice. "If you stick around I'll give you a private demonstration later."

Insert outraged facial expression and retort…but Bonnie could do nothing but blink at him.

Her stomach was full and she felt sick. A tell-tale sign she had eaten too much, gorged herself on food she knew she had no business eating but it just tasted too f*cking good to let it go to waste. Surprisingly she had a lively conversation with Damon, saw another facet of his personality, and could begin to look at him as a man who was confident not so much arrogant who liked to have a good time and hardly let anything get him down.

If only she had the opportunity to be around _this_ Damon than the one she worked along with when they met so many moons ago, Bonnie could admit to herself she may have been more open to seeing if anything could potentially happen between them.

Then she wondered if it was just the lull of a warm restaurant and a wonderfully cooked meal that was making her insides turn soft towards Damon.

Probably but it wasn't as if she'd have to interact with him like this in the near future.

Besides didn't she kind of sort of have a crush on Dean?

Well, she wasn't married and they weren't exclusive, haven't even gone out. That's when she realized she had been bamboozled into going out on a date with Damon.

Right then and there she should have turned the almost finished pitcher of iced tea on his sinfully handsome head, but Bonnie merely sat back against the padded booth cushion and picked her teeth clean with a toothpick.

Damon reached for his wallet and slapped his card on top of the bill. For such a tiny person Bonnie could put her food away. Not only did she finish everything on her plate, but she also devoured a healthy slice of Key Lime Pie.

Damon had declined dessert. He wasn't really a fan of the sweet stuff. But he did love candy. Give him a box of Mike and Ike's or Lemonheads and he was in heaven.

"Stuffed and satisfied, Ms. Bennett?"

"Yeah, and are we back to using last names?"

"No. Just trying to be polite."

Bonnie removed the toothpick from her mouth, it wasn't really proper etiquette. "Thank you for dinner, Damon. You didn't have to treat."

"Yeah, I did. My conscience wouldn't have allowed me to let you eat a TV dinner in that big ole house by yourself."

Bonnie leaned across the table. "Contrary to popular belief I know how to burn in the kitchen as well. My grandmother taught me. Her philosophy was every southern girl needs to know how to cook in order to keep her man at home. The way to a man's heart is through his belly." Bonnie rolled her eyes at that. "Sadly I know quite a few women who cooked a new meal every night, and Roscoe still tricked out on the streets."

"What do you think a woman needs to do to get her man to stay home?"

Bonnie grew deceptively quiet. "Poison him and if he comes home give him the antidote." She barked with laughter.

Damon stared at her strangely. "On that note, let's go."

The ride to her house was of course spent in silence. Damon helped her off the bike and was tempted to hold her hand all the way to the door, but Bonnie had to dig around in her purse for her keys so she needed both hands for that.

It was far colder than when they left school that they could see their breath on the air. Standing under the veranda, Bonnie looked up at Damon and felt herself getting nervous. For all intents and purposes they just had a date, and she wasn't so old-fashioned as to hold out on a first kiss, but still…they were colleagues and she didn't want to give him any ideas. If you gave him an inch he ran for a mile.

"Dinner was delicious and the company wasn't so bad," she said to break the silence.

"We should do this again. Soon."

Bonnie couldn't respond to that. She inserted her key in the lock. "Get home safely, Damon."

He inclined his head and stared at her expectantly. Bonnie's expression changed into "what do you want? A kiss? Forget it."

Just as she pushed the front door open, Damon clasped her by the elbow, turned her around at the same time his lips were making a sharp trajectory towards hers.

Bonnie instantly froze and wondered very briefly why she wasn't pulling away, but her eyes closed in relief when Damon simply kissed her on the cheek. Would it be weird if she said that his kiss burned?

It took a moment for her to wonder if she was happy or disappointed by the fact he kissed her cheek and not her lips.

"Good night, Bonnie," he said softly and waited for her to enter the house.

Bonnie did so on wobbly legs.

Chapter end.

**A/N: Like I said nothing too dirty happened between Bamon but it would have been weird for her to kind of flirt with Dean and then the next day fall into bed with Damon, not to say that's the original route of where I wanted this chapter to go. Bonnie has a lot of hang-ups she'll have to get over, so after she has alone time with the other two suitors that's when things will get VERY interesting. Thanks for reading and leaving me feedback. Love you guys.**


	4. Klaus

**A/N: Happy New Year people. I know it's not officially 2012 yet, but I just wanted to say that first. I'm sorry it's taken a while for me to update. I was out of town with limited access to the Net and also due to some life's challenges I wasn't able to post like I wanted to. I want to give a shout out to vampluv3r who stayed on my arse. Enjoy guys!**

Disclaimer: These characters (with the exception of Dean, Cassie, and Deanne) are the creative property of LJ Smith. No copyright infringement is intended.

Bonnie slept remarkably well…for two hours before her alarm clock went off. Before that she tossed and turned, kicked her sheets off before dragging them back on the bed to cover up after catching a chill. Usually she was a sound sleeper. She could sleep through a tornado, Cassie's stomping and yapping on the phone, she could even fall asleep during a sporting event. But last night…her thoughts about a certain person wouldn't shut off.

Groaning, Bonnie came to a sitting position and jabbed the heel of her hand into her eye socket.

There was a faint blue light peaking between the blinds and she could hear the bluejays singing, chirping, whatever it was they did. All of this should have been efficient to put her in a good mood, but it didn't.

The space in the bed beside her was cold—like it was day after day and night after night. Until this stupid competition for Mr. Mystic Falls began Bonnie had been content—maybe not entirely happy with the state of her personal life, but she had very little complaints.

Now all she wanted to do was complain the whole damn time.

For instance, when she stepped into her closet after relieving herself and brushing her teeth, she had row after row of silk and cotton shirts in a myriad of colors meant to bring attention to her womanly assets. She had pencil skirts in varying lengths and styles, pants with either skinny or wide legs, and shoes. She couldn't forget her shoes. From the modest three inch heel to the sky high ones with bows, buckles, straps, or peep toes.

Clothing wise—she had it made.

When she looked over her shoulder to her empty bed—she was lacking.

And this brokered the question. Just who in the world was she dressing for?

Cassie, Caroline, Elena, and the whole entire school if she thought about it was trying to make her into some giant billboard for lonely women who were about to land face first into the big 3-0 with no husband or prospects for one.

However, Bonnie knew it was irrational to blame a seventeen year old girl for her lack of dick. That was a personal choice Bonnie made.

Nevertheless she didn't really want to address what kept her up all night.

It was Damon or more to the matter the very virtuous kiss he planted on her cheek at the conclusion of their night. A night that never would have happened if her car didn't have two flat tires.

When she entered the house after her date, and unearthed her cell phone from the bottom of her purse she had six missed calls. Surprisingly two were from Stefan and one was from Klaus. Both had left messages wondering if she were all right because her car was still parked in the faculty lot and she was nowhere to be found. Bonnie had called them back and both had answered on the first ring. She assured them she was fine and would call her roadside assistance company first thing in the morning, and they'd be able to replace her tires on site.

Bonnie had no answer for them when questioned how her tires may have flattened in the first place. Klaus had flippantly replied Damon may have been responsible, and when Bonnie thought about it…it did seem like something he would do.

His Harley had been parked right beside her car. But still she didn't like accusing people without sufficient proof.

Besides she had just started to view him as a person with a soul so she wasn't looking for a reason to go back to giving him the stink eye again.

Sighing once more, she headed into her closet and searched through her selections. Today was Klaus' evaluation so Bonnie selected one of her personal favorite outfits.

* * *

><p>Why did she have to wear those f*cking shoes? There were black, strappy with metal spikes and a four inch heel. Why did she have to wear such a dangerous shoe with such a conservative outfit? He was speaking of the heather gray A-line number that reminded him of Jackie O, one of the sexiest women alive in his humble opinion. Why would she brush her long locks into a tight chignon exposing that slender neck? And why did she have to finish her look off with a pair of retro square shaped glasses which made her look equally sexy and collegiate?<p>

Klaus cleared his throat and tried to ignore the woman who was intently following him around his classroom with her eyes as she sat off to the side, observing him and critiquing this teaching skills. Out the corner of his eye he could see her Mona Lisa smile and again he had to clear his throat and drone on and on about Nietchze.

Her concentration was waning. Her hand was moving, her pen was scribbling across Klaus' file yet she couldn't say what she was writing. She kept hearing Klaus' voice as if he were speaking directly in her ear; only he wasn't speaking of the great philosophers of the past but doing erotic things to her.

Her pen somehow slipped out of her hands, and rolled off the desk to the floor. The noise was loud enough for Klaus to take a dramatic pause in his lecture. Bonnie felt the back of her neck grow hot, and she avoided eye contact with him as she picked up her pen, however it wasn't where she felt it land on the floor. When she brought her eyes up they crashed into a deep pair of navy ones.

"I believe you dropped this, Miss Bennett," Klaus smiled and Bonnie had to clear her throat. Some manly scent wafted off his skin and her eyes had dropped down to that decadent blood red mouth of his. His smile deepened until crescent moons appeared in his cheeks. When he smiled it took a good ten years off his face.

Bonnie blindly reached for her pen. "T-thank you, Mr. Rutherford."

"Any time."

Klaus barely resisted winked at her. There were twenty-four students eavesdropping on their conversation, trying to snatch a single scandalous morsel to circulate around. He would give them no ammunition—not yet at least.

He quickly rose from squatting on his haunches and returned to the middle of the room, picking his lecture back up as if the interruption never took place.

Bonnie's cheeks were inflamed and she wanted a glass of iced water.

Lord, woman what is wrong with you? Last night you were almost making goo-goo eyes at Damon, and now you're about to have a wet dream fantasy about Klaus. Please, please I beg of you go get thee laid.

Klaus opened his lecture up for discussion and this is where Bonnie really had to pay attention. She had to make note of how engaged the students were, how they were able to compute the information that was thrown out at them. And she had to rate how well Klaus fielded questions.

Being close to her for those few seconds was hardly enough to sate anything. The smell of her perfumed skin made him think of a jazz club from the 1920's very chic and sophisticated and also sultry. And Bonnie was that- a sultry vixen who could reduce him to a prepubescent boy in no time flat. It should have sickened him, but it didn't. It only made him want to figure out more creative ways to get her alone.

Yeah, he knew all about her date with Damon, since the bloke barely waited until he was home before posting up the innuendo on his Facebook page. Klaus' lip had curled when he saw it.

Damon's status had read: Just got back from a hot date with my dream girl. Part 2 to come very shortly. Yo kids get off FB and go do your homework. D-Man out.

Sure Damon could have been talking about _anybody _but Klaus knew for a fact that Damon, in secret, referred to Bonnie as his dream girl. No other woman he dallied with had ever earned that title save Bonnie. And it wasn't his place to question Bonnie about it. She had made it very clear that discussing her personal life was off limits to everyone so don't even bother wasting your time. If she wanted you to know something she'd tell you herself.

Well, for the bravado Damon put on about his alleged "hot date" why had Bonnie raked her eyes over him the way she did only a minute ago? Perhaps she was keeping her options open, which Klaus would lobby for that course of action. He, Damon, Stefan on occasion, and unfortunately the newcomer Dean were engaged in the world's most ancient battle, the battle over a female's heart. Things, at a certain point, were bound to get messy.

The bell tolled and his students scrambled to put their things together. Klaus gave his final instructions and then a moment later there was a grand exodus out the door. Once the room was vacant he moved behind the desk to straighten up his area and get his materials ready for his next class.

Out of his peripheral he saw Bonnie gathering her own papers, stacking them neatly in the folder. She slid out of the seat, stretched a little and picked up her clipboard.

He pretended to ignore her drawing closer but he felt each vibration of her stiletto covered feet heading closer towards him. Annoyingly his heart rate wanted to speed up.

Finally when the scent of her perfume overtook his rational senses, he looked up and smiled.

"Do I pass with flying colors or will I be scent to the principals office for a thorough talking to?" at the last second Klaus hoped his tone wasn't biting or sarcastic. He meant to come off flirty but had to admit that wasn't really his forte. Most women were drawn to him because of his accent and devilish good looks. To impress Bonnie he'd need more than his dimples.

"You were eloquent as usual. The students were able to provide you with good feedback to the thought provoking questions you asked them. I see no cause for complaint or a reprimand from Principal Salvatore. You did a good job, Klaus."

Surprise flashed on his face when she addressed him by first name.

"However…"

She sank his battleship.

"There were a few students who hesitated when you asked them a direct question, and it wasn't because they didn't know the material. It was obvious they did the assignment, but it may have been the slight intimidating glare you sent their way. I'm not saying become a stand up comedian to warm up your students, but we have to take everything into consideration. If a student feels intimidated by their teacher it may begin to affect their work—in a negative way.

"Last year we had to let go a veteran teacher because he failed to connect with students. Parents called and complained when their children started exhibiting the physical signs of stress. They were so terrified of going to class, many stopped showing up altogether or tried to sell a kidney to switch periods. I'm not saying you're going down that road, just remember they're people too and it's okay if they don't know all that you know. I hope you understand my point."

Klaus could have taken this one of two ways but he was mostly busy mentally doing sinful things to Bonnie's mouth.

"Yes," he snapped out of his reverie. "I will try to be more…welcoming towards my students. I wouldn't want any of them to feel they couldn't confide in me."

Bonnie smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. Her warm touch burned him.

"Well…again you're evaluation was good. And please feel free to stop by my office if you need more tips or simply want to…talk."

He would comb the edges of the world to find some excuse to come visit her on a regular basis now that she presented that option to him.

Bonnie grabbed her materials and sashayed out of his classroom. She missed the dangerous smirk on Klaus' face. Let the _real _chase begin.

* * *

><p>Later that same day when Klaus had to turn in some important documents to the main office, he spotted Bonnie standing out in the hall, her back pressed up against the wall. He grimaced as he watched her interaction with Dean. There was clear interest written on her face as she conversed with the newbie. Part of Klaus wanted to spit. He had only spoken with Dean a handful of times and there were notable similarities between his personality and Damon's. They were both…well how could he put it without seeming harsh? Why sugarcoat it? They were both assholes.<p>

Pretty much. And cocky and overly arrogant. Oh, Klaus had his arrogance but knew when to temper it and when to let it fly free. Damon and Dean had no filter and said exactly what was on their minds not giving a damn about who they were talking to.

When he exited the office five minutes later he almost collided with Bonnie. Her face was flushed and her sparkling emerald eyes were alit.

"I'm sorry," she said with a smile on her face.

"I'm afraid I'm the one who must be apologizing. Bonnie…there's something I want to ask you."

She merely stared up at him.

Klaus licked his lips, his throat suddenly feeling dry. "Are you a fan of art?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Tonight down at the arboretum there's a showing of original artwork by local artists. I was going there myself and wanted to extend an invitation. That is if you don't have other plans."

Bonnie looked conflicted for a moment. Dean had just invited her over to his place one night for a home cooked meal. And Damon had cornered her not long after she did Klaus' evaluation to ask her if they could have lunch together next week. She hadn't said yes to either of their requests but gave the most standard non-committal response out there: I'll think about it.

However she did love art and she knew about the viewing and had plans to attend. Alone.

Yet, spending some sort of alone time with Klaus could answer some questions she had about him. All she really knew about him was the fact he hailed from London and was intelligent to a fault, but she wanted to know more. Bonnie figured she could add his being a supporter of the arts to the list of things to know about semi-mysterious Klaus.

"You're going out there tonight?" she asked tentatively.

Klaus nodded his head. "I know it's a school night and all," he grinned. "But I like living dangerously and breaking rules. What about you, Ms. Bennett?"

"Only when I know things will work out in my favor. I'll tell you what. Let's say I'll be down there between the hours of six and seven. If we run into each other, perfect. If not, then some other time."

Well it wasn't the answer he was hoping for, but he would take this olive branch she was extending.

Klaus inclined his head and began to walk backwards down the hall. "So I may or may not see you there," he said. "Works for me."

* * *

><p>"So has your sister gotten laid yet?" Deanne said prior to sinking her teeth into a buffalo wing. Cassie sat across from her at the Mystic Grill slurping on a cherry flavored soda and winced at her friend's crass question.<p>

"Well that was classy."

"Don't turn into a prude on me now, Cass," Deanne wiped her messy fingers. "So has she?"

Cassie shook her head. "She's not going that route with them and even I know screwing four guys in the same month who all live in the same zip code is a little slutty."

"I'm not saying she has to bang all four, one would work for me. But even you have to see the improvement in her mood since we set her up. She's smiling more and even started mentoring again. You're a genius, Cassie and don't let anyone else tell you differently."

Cassie tried to look unaffected by her friend's compliment but failed miserably. In fact she had given herself quite a few pats on the back at the ingenuity of her plan. Just today she had caught her sister flirting with both Mr. Salvatore and Mr. Winchester. The hussy.

However, Cassie was concerned yet she wouldn't tell anybody. What if they all wanted a piece of her sister and no one was willing to back down? Things could become violent and she didn't want Bonnie to be caught in the crossfire, because inevitably when dealing with human nature things could turn primitive very quickly.

Deanne studied Cassie for a moment. She could tell when she was thinking about something serious because eyes kind of became opaque.

"What's wrong? Are you having second thoughts?" Deanne wondered.

Cassie shook her head and popped a French fry in her mouth. "No, I'm not having second thoughts…I just don't want her to get hurt."

"I wouldn't worry so much about Bonnie getting hurt."

"Yeah. She's the one who's going to have to make the choice."

"You're absolutely right about that. Which raises this very important question. Who would you want your sister to be with? And don't say something lame like: Whoever makes her the happiest."

Cassie sucked her teeth. "Why not? If she's happy then she has no reason to be a bitch to me."

Deanne made a restless movement with her shoulders. "All right, fine. Who would you want for a brother-in-law?"

Cassie looked down at her fingernails for a second. "It would be weird having my principal as my brother-in-law, so Stefan is out. Klaus…I'm not sure if he's fun enough and he looks just as strict as Bonnie—so that makes him a complete and utter killjoy. Dean, he's hot but I don't know enough about him and hey he did work for the government. The last thing we need is men in black suits showing up at the house to kidnap us for an alien experiment project-,"

"You need to stop watching re-runs of the X-Files, chica."

Cassie threw a fry at Deanne's head.

"That only leaves you with one other option," Deanne pointed out unnecessarily. "You want Damon as your brother?"

Cassie didn't say anything for a while. "Only if he'd be willing to put his womanizing ways aside for good. Bonnie is a strong woman and if he's looking to dominate her, he'll be sadly mistaken."

"Un-hun." Pause. "So what's up with you and Jared? I haven't seen him in a while."

Cassie rolled her eyes and polished off the rest of the food on her plate. She and Jared had been dating since the end of their junior year. If you saw him you saw her, but nowadays her boyfriend went missing in action. Whenever she called, he never picked up. And if she left him a voice mail or a text it would take him hours to reply back to her. All signs in her mind pointed to him cheating, but no girl had come up to her flaunting the fact that she had seduced Jared away from the great Cassie Bennett.

Cassie might be a priss in many regards but she knew how to fight and not many people wanted to find themselves on her bad side.

Yet Cassie knew her boyfriend was basically slacking off with his slacker friends since none of them had girlfriends and typically gave Jared hell if he wanted to spend one afternoon away from them.

For that reason alone, Cassie hated all his friends with a passion. Leave it to clowns to ruin a perfectly happy home.

"He's been hanging with his boys. If he doesn't wise up he'll find himself building the doghouse before I bury him under it."

Deanne cackled and took a sip of her soda. Just then she caught sight of Bonnie walking past the restaurant window.

"Where's your sister going?"

Cassie turned her attention to the window and saw Bonnie walk down the street. She frowned.

"I think she might be going to the art show at the arboretum."

Deanne grinned. "I wonder if she's meeting anyone there."

"I certainly hope so."

* * *

><p>The air had a bit of a chill to it but it wasn't uncomfortable to the point she wanted to go home. Plus she had dressed accordingly. She would not be caught in a leather skirt and a pea coat riding on the back of a motorcycle in forty degree weather again. No matter who the driver was.<p>

The arboretum was decorated with icicle lights, a small quartet had been hired to perform and play classical hits, and there was nothing save wall to wall original paintings and photographs. Many of the artists were in attendance telling the milling crowd about the inspiration for their work while also trying to make a sale.

Bonnie was on the photography side of the arboretum admiring a black and white photo of a mother and her child. The mother was giving her little a girl a bath, but they were photographed from the front so you could see nothing except for the little head of the child who wore of a crown of bubbles.

"Lovely and innocent isn't it?" a voice said from behind her shoulder.

Bonnie jumped a little and turned around. Klaus stood behind her dressed in a black trench coat, a navy blue knit turtle neck sweater, and a dark pair of denim jeans.

"It is," she said after finding her voice. She turned back to face the photograph one final time before moving over to the next one.

"Have you just arrived?" he asked.

"Yeah, not too long ago. I've been obsessed with art since I was in school. Unfortunately it wasn't really my forte. I barely passed it in high school. Go figure," she said in a self-deprecating manner.

"It's kind of how I am about writing," Klaus admitted. Bonnie turned to regard him. Klaus took that as his opportunity to saddle beside her. "I love the written word, but when it came to my own writing, many of my professors called my style contrived and unrealistic."

"Why?" Bonnie was sure from the way he spoke alone that if he put word to paper it would be on the level of a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Klaus shrugged. He saw a vendor strolling by selling cups of hot chocolate or spiced tea. He motioned with his hand for the man to draw near.

"How much for the hot chocolate, mate?" Klaus asked.

"A donation of three dollars."

Klaus dug into his wallet and extracted a twenty. He handed it over to the vendor and picked up two cups, handing one to Bonnie. She took the proffered cup and smiled.

"Keep the change," Klaus said.

"Thank you, sir, madam. Enjoy the show."

Bonnie took a small sip of her hot chocolate. It was the real stuff, not the instant kind.

"Thank you, Klaus."

He tapped his paper cup with hers. "It was my pleasure. Now back to what I was saying, oh right. My English professors didn't think I had the finesse to be a published writer. Not because my material was dark but…I guess they believed I was too existential and that no one would get it."

"Which I take it to mean _they _didn't get it."

He chuckled. "And that's how I've chosen to look at it."

They began to stroll along the arboretum.

"So do you still write?"

Klaus bobbed his head. "From time to time. Mostly I spend my days writing proposals and grants. I do that as freelance work. It's very lucrative actually."

Bonnie could see it. "And if you weren't a teacher," she began, "what else would you be doing with your life?"

The twosome stopped in front of a sculpture to admire its twisted forms and sharp angles. Bonnie had no idea what it was supposed to be a representation of.

Klaus took a sip of his hot chocolate. "The world is a stage, my dear, so I image there's little I wouldn't be able to do. Come on. There's something I want to show you."

Klaus outstretched his arm and Bonnie slipped hers into it. They walked through the arboretum until it spit them out on the park side of downtown.

Up ahead there were four tethered horses and a carriage that looked like a sled but it had wheels. A man dressed in a top hat and tails, stood beside the horses. He was fiddling with his cell phone, but when he saw Bonnie and Klaus approaching he quickly pocketed the device.

"Thank you, Archibald for looking out for them. Are they already to go?"

"Yes, sir, Lord Rutherford, sir."

Bonnie's eyes widened. Did she just hear the horseman refer to Klaus as _Lord _Rutherford and not Mister? She looked over to her companion who was giving some final instructions to the horseman before he brought his gaze over to her again. Klaus held out a hand.

It took a second for Bonnie to get her feet to move toward him and the horses which were beautiful beige Clydesdales.

"Aren't these the kind of horses they use in the Budweiser commercials, right?" Bonnie asked and then felt incredibly dumb when both men stared at her drolly. "Never mind," she said and took Klaus by the hand.

He helped her into the carriage and soon joined her. Bonnie thought that Archibald would climb into the—driver's seat?—and take them through the park, but Klaus grabbed the reigns. He snapped them at the same time he said "Yaw!"

"There's a blanket, love to keep your legs warm."

Bonnie found the blanket and arranged it over both of their laps.

In this moment, Bonnie couldn't feel more like Cinderella.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Klaus or should I call you Lord Klaus?" she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips.

Klaus looked over to Bonnie and appeared contrite for two seconds. "I guess I may have failed to mention that I'm not only English but I come from one of the oldest families in England. We, my sister and I are the descents of the third Duke of Northumberland. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

"Really?" Bonnie felt spellbound. "Does that make you any relation to the royal family?"

Klaus wasn't sure of that but maybe he was a fifth or sixth cousin to the currently reigning Queen Elizabeth.

"Of that I'm not sure but I wouldn't be surprised."

Well that would certainly explain a lot about Klaus' personality. He had royalty in his blood which meant he had experienced the best of everything. Or so it seemed.

"Tonight, the horse carriage ride it was all planned just for me?" Bonnie wondered aloud.

"Perhaps or maybe it's just blind luck," he grinned at her and ordered the horses to ride faster.

It was different seeing her town while riding in a carriage. There was more for her to see that she wouldn't have been able to do if she had been in a car. Mystic Falls really was one of those cities you saw printed on a post card, and it made her wonder why she ever complained about its simplicity in the first place.

After touring much of the town, they returned to the arboretum.

"Thank you, Klaus. I had fun."

He bowed gallantly before her. "Maybe I can persuade you to come to my home when you're free again. I have a few thoroughbred horses that need a good turnabout before they get fat and lazy over the coming winter. Something tells me you'd make an excellent horsewoman."

Bonnie laughed. "I'm not sure about that. I love horses, don't get me wrong. But the romance might be a little one-sided."

Klaus stepped just a little closer to her, practically looming over her. "I doubt that. So…is it a date?"

Bonnie inwardly cringed at the word "date". Already she was beginning to feel overwhelmed but what was the point of living life if everything was mundane and routine and hadn't she had enough of that?

As much fun as she had riding beside Klaus, drinking her hot chocolate, listening to him talk she couldn't stop thinking about Damon—shamelessly. If she were with Damon he would have had her in stitches all night, and it had been too long since she laughed hard enough to make her stomach hurt.

So what did this all really mean? That after one date Damon was the front runner for her time and attention? Bonnie didn't want to answer that question right away. There was still Dean to consider and really she had felt the most relaxed with him since day one. She was curious to see where things might go.

However, she couldn't lie about her attraction to Klaus either. He was an educated gentleman with a suaveness that was sometime's otherworldly. Now she understood perfectly why that was. But was it enough for a possible love connection? Was it enough to consider him to warm her bed at night?

Staring up into those mesmerizing eyes of his and then dropping her gaze to his plump blood red lips, she was desperate to find out if the heat between them could be scorching hot like a volcano.

Right now, Bonnie could honestly say she didn't burn for his touch. She was curious, and sometimes curiosity wasn't enough.

But it was only fair to give him the same chance she was willing to give Dean, to give to Damon.

Klaus had held his breath while Bonnie pondered his question. If she didn't answer soon he was going to run out of oxygen and pass out. He knew he was competing against the pretty boy of Mystic Falls and the wannabe tough guy, and he also had to battle against her friendship with Stefan. But Klaus could offer Bonnie so much more than a good time in the sack or brotherly affection. He could give her the world on a silver platter—he just had it made like that.

Yet it would have to be her decision. He had his pride as well.

"That sounds…doable," Bonnie finally answered. Klaus closed his eyes as if he were about to pray. Bonnie chuckled.

"You have no idea how happy you've made me. In fact you've made my night. My year, to be honest."

She was blushing again. "You can always stop while you're ahead," Bonnie advised.

Klaus shook his head, took her by the arm again and led her to her car. "It's only going to get much worse from here on out."

Bonnie wasn't sure how she felt about that particular proclamation, yet she wouldn't hide from what was coming next.

When they reached her vehicle, Bonnie felt awkward again. What would be the right way to end the night? Give him a hug, a handshake? A kiss was out of the question.

"I had a wonderful time, Bonnie," Klaus reached for her hand and kissed it. His lips lingered longer than they needed to, but Bonnie felt warmth zing through her.

"Thank you, Klaus. I'm glad we got to spend some time together, and got to know a little more about each other."

"Get home safely," Klaus said. "Matter of fact call me when you get there."

"All right."

They stared at each other for a moment before Bonnie climbed into her car. Klaus remained on the sidewalk and watched her drive down the avenue. He felt a pair of eyes on him and when he looked across the street he saw Damon gawking at him.

Klaus winked. "Game on, bitch!" he yelled to Damon before strolling down the street to his own car—whistling.

"Game on indeed," Damon agreed.

The following day at work, after getting her cup of coffee, and hanging up her coat, sitting innocently on her desk was a miniature horse figurine. Picking it up, Bonnie smiled.

Suddenly there was a knock on her door. Bonnie turned around, still holding the horse figurine in her hands.

"Just the person I was looking for. You're mine, Ms. Bennett all mine."

Bonnie lost her eyebrows to her hairline and her jaw fell to her chest. "Principal Salvatore?"

Stefan strolled into her office walking right up to Bonnie. "Have you forgotten what's coming up?"

She had no clue. "Sir?" Bonnie was still stuck on Stefan declaring her as _his. _In the four years they've worked together he never ever used a possessive tone when talking to her or about her.

But she took a moment to think really hard about what he was eluding to. Finally it came to her she smiled. "No I haven't forgotten. I'm usually the one who has to remind you."

"Blame it on working too hard." Stefan spied the figurine in her hands and quickly dismissed it. "I'm counting on you, Ms. Bennett."

"Right, sir," she said and sat the figurine down.

With her eyes focused on something else Stefan took a moment to ogle Bonnie. Today she had donned her cerulean blue wrap dress—one of his favorites because it clung to her curves like a coating of melted chocolate over a peanut. Stefan quickly brought his eyes up to her face again when she returned her attention to him.

"I'll leave you now because I know you have a busy day ahead of you," Stefan began to head out of her office.

The minute she was alone, Bonnie muttered, "Strange."

Chapter end.

**A/N: I wasn't too happy with Klonnie's date it could have been a little more exciting. But my mind went blank on something they could do that wouldn't be over the top or OOC. And truthfully I wasn't really inspired by Klonnie in this chapter not like how I am with Bamon, Bean, and Stefonnie, and I still have no idea who she'll end up with. Next up is Stefan's turn. Yeah! Thanks you guys for reading and for the the reviews. Love you!  
><strong>


	5. Stefan

**A/N: So very sorry it took so long for me to update this. I've been busy with my other stories, life, and you know the rest. Now on to the show. Thanks for reading!**

Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith (except Dean Winchester) and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

"_Do you know what today is, it's our anniversary… anniversary_," Bonnie sang as she strolled into Principal Salvatore's office holding a vanilla cupcake with a number four candle burning in the middle.

Stefan dropped his pen, pushed away from his desk and smiled at the beaming woman who drew closer to him. As much as his eyes should have been focused on the delicious treat in her hands—she knew he had a weakness for sweets—they were instead shamelessly focused on Bonnie. She wore her traditional black suit with wide leg pants complimented with a black and gray paneled corseted top that was concealed under her tailored suit jacket. This morning she decided to wear her hair pin straight, and she took extra care with her makeup using kohl liner a little more liberally than usual.

None of it detracted from her beauty only augmented what was already there.

Bonnie held out the cupcake towards Stefan's lips who smiled once before blowing out the candle. He then accepted the dessert and flicked his index finger over the vanilla icing before sticking it in his mouth.

"Want some?" he asked and held the sinful pastry out to Bonnie.

She sort of blushed because his question sounded a bit too forward, but whatever. She knew what he meant.

"No, that's all yours," Bonnie then cautiously sat down on the edge of his desk. "So what are we going to do to celebrate? Lunch at McCormick's?"

Stefan shook his head and sat the cupcake down on a stack of papers he had a mind to chuck in the trashcan. This was the side to being a principal he didn't like—endless paperwork and forms that needed to be proofread, examined, and then authorized with his signature. Kalle, the administrative assistant was supposed to field which documents were urgent and needed his immediate attention, but from the looks of things, in her opinion, everything was important.

Suddenly Stefan's Ralph Lauren tie felt like it was tightening around his neck. He loosened it a bit.

"We should try something different. We've worked together for four years and yet we've always managed to celebrate the same way year after year. Lunch or dinner at McCormick's followed by a play down at the Arboretum."

Yeah, Bonnie could admit the routine was dry and stale by now. But there was very little variety in Mystic Falls, so little to do, she was virtually clueless on how to up to ante this year.

Besides she was feeling as if she were stretching herself a little too thin these days. Just last week she was conned into having dinner with Damon, and then the other night she took a carriage ride around town with Klaus, and Bonnie had agreed to Dean's poker night which was scheduled for this Saturday. Bonnie didn't know the first thing about playing poker, but she did want the opportunity to meet some of Dean's old Air Guard friends and his brother who was coming for a weekend visit.

Bonnie folded her arms over her chest and swung her left foot off the edge of the desk. "Oh, I have an idea. At the Roadhouse bar just twenty miles outside of town, it's mechanical bull riding night."

Stefan arched a thick eyebrow in the air. "Mechanical bull riding? You want to go mechanical bull riding?" he was clearly dubious because, no offense, Bonnie had always been something of a priss to him.

And she picked up on his subtle meaning. "Yes," she nearly barked at him. "I'm not a total snob," she sniffed.

Stefan lifted his hands up in the air in surrender. "Never said you were. Your suggestion just took me by surprise. Do you even own a pair of jeans that aren't designer, or a pair of sneakers?" he teased.

With that statement Bonnie snatched a paper clip off his desk and chucked it at him. It bounced off his chest and landed on his lap.

Bonnie quickly averted her eyes to look elsewhere whereas Stefan merely brushed the little object off like it was lint.

"I know that's not the pot calling the kettle black. Everything you wear either hailed from Italy or Paris."

"Guilty," he admitted without shame. "So should I pick you up from your place or will I be meeting you there? The ball is in your court."

Bonnie looked at her boss then. His face appeared completely innocent yet she was sure he wasn't having total altruistic thoughts. It would be better if she drove her own car—her tires had been replaced although the culprit who flattened them was never found or came forward—but Bonnie liked her beer and if she drank too much there'd be no way she'd be able to drive home safely.

But she was a shrewd person who had plenty of self-control and she couldn't get too crazy because let's face it, at the end of the day Stefan was still her boss, and certain lines and boundaries between them couldn't be crossed.

No matter how badly she may have fantasized about crossing them in the past.

That was the past, she reminded herself brutally.

When they were back in high school Bonnie could admit to having a raging crush on Stefan, but he caught eyes for Caroline, fell for her and dated her up until he graduated. Caroline had been heartbroken—for three weeks—before she moved on to her next target Matt Donovan. They had been inseparable up until their sophomore year in college. Matt had been the one to break things off. His reason, he couldn't deal with the long distance thing.

Caroline didn't buy that excuse so she dragged Bonnie across state lines to Tennessee were she discovered the _real _reason Matt abruptly called off their relationship.

The girl's name was Hoe-bags, at least that's the ridiculous name Caroline came up with.

Yet Bonnie remembered oftentimes feeling tongue tied and twisted whenever she hung around Stefan. He was smoking hot then, and was absurdly hot now. With time she managed to look past his awesomely chiseled features and saw what a gentle soul he really had. They didn't have too many intimate conversations back then, but when they managed to say more than hello to one another, Bonnie remembered he had depth and liked to analyze things in a way no other eighteen old guy would have put in the effort to try.

That had impressed her immensely.

Now working alongside him, learning his quirks and traits, and seeing what a dedicated educator he was, on paper Stefan was the right man she should invest her future in.

Realistically, they were colleagues and she wasn't going to break her rule.

Stefan could barely hold himself together as he waited for Bonnie to answer his question. This time of year was the only time he could really have Bonnie all to himself with no interruptions. He lived for this anniversary like a kid waiting for Christmas and though he should have felt a little ashamed about himself, when Bonnie showed how much she valued their working relationship, he wanted to pull out all the stops to get her to realize she could have so much more with him if only she were willing to take that chance.

Yet like he said the ball was completely in her court.

Bonnie figured she had stalled long enough. "I have a few stops to make after work, so I'll meet you there."

It took a gargantuan effort on his part not to let the disappointment show on his face. Stefan merely nodded his head and picked up his pen.

Bonnie took that as her signal to get off his desk and let the man continue his work. "So Roadhouse at seven," she said as she walked backwards to his door.

"See you at seven," he agreed his tone a bit flat.

Bonnie escaped the sudden awkwardness of his office, retreated into hers to gather her phone and her trusty clipboard ready to make her rounds.

As usual Damon was there flirting with Kalle. Seriously the man spent just as much time in the principal's office now just like he probably did when he was in high school.

Bonnie had hoped to slip out undetected since Damon's back was to her, but he must have caught her scent or had a sixth sense when it came to her because the next thing she heard was her name being called across the office.

She halted her forward progress and pivoted on her heels to face Damon. He said something to Kalle that had the girl's cheeks scarlet red.

He strutted over to Bonnie in that arrogant and confident gait of his that usually grated her nerves, but now that she knew a little more about Damon, she figured it could be constituted as sexy.

"How is my favorite administrator doing this morning?" he asked and stood perhaps several inches too close to her.

Bonnie shuffled her feet until she established a neutral zone between them. "She's fine like she always is, Damon. Don't you have a class this period?"

He waved her question away like it was a gnat. "They're doing research in the library. I had some very important documents to turn in."

"Damon," Bonnie reproached. "You know it's against school policy to leave your class for any reason that's not an emergency."

"And it was an emergency," he argued. "My parking pass had expired…"

Bonnie held up a hand to silence him while she shook her head and chuckled a bit. Damon's smile increased. He closed the gap she created and peered down at her.

"Will I be reprimanded for my insubordination?"

"Something tells me you like getting in trouble and receiving consequences."

His eyebrows wiggled at her, and he lowered his voice an octave, "You have no idea."

Bonnie stared up at him. He was two seconds from stepping over a line forcing her to be the reasonable and responsible one.

"Mr. Salvatore," Bonnie took a step back, "remember who you're talking to and where you stand."

With that hearty piece of advice, Bonnie went about her business.

Damon balled his hands into fists, and bit down on her lower lip. "I cannot win with that woman," he lamented and shuffled back to the library. "I take two steps forward, and a thousand steps backwards."

Bonnie was looking down at her checklist when she heard feet slapping against the floors. She was prepared to say "there's no running in the halls" when a deep gravelly voice called her name in relief.

"Bon…er Miss Bennett," Dean caught himself. He knew what a stickler she was for being formal in the workplace.

Bonnie snapped her head up, a smile on her face that vanished when she saw Dean's somewhat panicked expression.

"Mr. Winchester what's going on?"

He gestured wildly behind him. "There's a girl…she's crying…there's like snot…and she's...well she won't say what's wrong. Me, girls, and tears are not a good mix."

Bonnie lightly placed her hand on his arm to get him to calm down out of his flustered state. She found it kind of cute that a teenaged girl could reduce this ex-government agent to act like a boy seeing his first pair of boobs.

"Where is she?" Bonnie asked and ignored the muscle that flex and extended under her hand.

"Outside of my classroom."

They began heading in that direction.

"Is she one of your students?"

Dean nodded his head. "She was fine all throughout lab and at the end she just broke down. She tried to collect herself and managed to make it outside the room where she just…collapsed. I have no idea what's going on with her."

Bonnie listened intently and nodded her head. They rounded the corner and she saw the girl that had Dean sweating bullets. Her entire face was red and wet with tears. Bonnie folded herself to her haunches, sat down her clipboard, and touched the girl on the shoulder.

"Kimberly? Kimberly, its Miss Bennett, sweetheart what's wrong?"

Kimberly had yet to open her eyes as she continued to weep. Bonnie felt her small shoulders tremble underneath her touch.

"You know you can talk to me; you can tell me anything. I want to help you. What's wrong?"

Kimberly cried some more and began to mumble something Dean couldn't make heads or tails out of. He merely stood off to the side feeling awkward and impotent because consoling people was not one of his strong suits. In fact he avoided anyone who cried: man, woman, child, made no difference to him. If you were leaking he'd pass you some tissue and then vacate the premises quickly.

But he saw that Bonnie was nodding her head and was carrying on a conversation with the girl. He had no idea how she was able to make out what Kimberly was crying about, but the two of them slowly rose to their feet. Kimberly used the sleeves to her pullover to dry her face, and thankfully another young student happened to be walking down the hall at that precise moment.

Bonnie stopped the student and told the girl to take Kimberly to her office. While Bonnie gave out those instructions, Dean retrieved her clipboard from the floor.

"Thank you," he said gratefully when Bonnie turned back to face him.

"You're welcome."

"Am I allowed to ask what that was all about?"

Bonnie took her clipboard from him and pushed her hair back behind her shoulders. "She and her boyfriend of all of two weeks just broke up."

An "ah-ha" expression floated over Dean's face. "I'm so glad that stage of my life is over and done with," he said.

"Yeah," Bonnie could only half-agree. There were days where she too felt like a high school girl who thought the world was going to end if her crush didn't acknowledge her.

"You have an amazing way with kids," Dean complimented which caused Bonnie to blush just a tad bit, not to the point where it was noticeable. "You spent all of five minutes with the girl and you were able to get her to talk and stop crying. I probably would have only made things worse."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You did the smart thing by going for help. Now we know there's something for you to work on."

Dean shook his head in the negative. "Give me a problem I can fix or give good advice on like how much fluid is supposed to go in a double pump system. Everything else…that's what the school counselor is for."

Bonnie chuckled.

"So you got plans for lunch?" Dean asked.

Bonnie bit a corner of her bottom lip which drew Dean's attention there. "I don't."

"Well, you do now. It's gonna be me and you and the Pitt round two. Hmm," he paused, "that was kind of poetic wasn't it?"

Bonnie could only shake her head and continue on with her rounds.

"I suppose so," she finally said.

"Oh, and we're still on for Saturday?" Dean shouted.

Of course Klaus and Damon would choose that precise moment to stroll along the adjacent hallway and nearly collide into one another.

Bonnie tensed a bit at Dean's belligerence. "Yeah," she replied and headed in the opposite direction saying nothing further.

Dean smirked at his colleagues before disappearing in his classroom. Klaus and Damon simply looked at each other with question marks blinking over their heads.

"Saturday?" they said in unison.

* * *

><p>Much to Bonnie's chagrin, Stefan ignored her wish and showed up at her house at six-thirty sharp. When she opened the door fully prepared to give him attitude, her words died on her lips when she saw that he was dressed in a pair of leg hugging jeans that Bonnie knew the designer hadn't meant for them to be skinny jeans, that's just how naturally stacked Stefan's legs were. He had paired the dark denim jeans with a pectoral hugging flannel shirt, cowboy boots, finishing the look with a ten-gallon Stetson on his head that cut off his face from the bridge of his nose on up.<p>

This left Bonnie the opportunity to gaze at his strong jaw line and those full lips of his.

"Evenin' Miss Bennett," Stefan said in a thick southern drawl that nearly turned her bones into molasses.

Bonnie cleared her throat and snapped herself out of it. She leaned against the threshold and folded her arms over her own flannel covered bosom. She was dressed much in the same fashion as Stefan minus the hat of course.

"I thought we were going to meet up at Roadhouse."

Stefan rocked on his heels. "Yeah, change of plans. There's some proposals I need to discuss with you and it's conversation I rather not have in a noisy restaurant."

_Do I look stupid? _Bonnie wanted to retort but held her tongue. Since there was no point in arguing the point, Bonnie ducked back inside her house to grab her purse and jean jacket. She followed Stefan to his car and being the gentleman he was, he opened the passenger side door for Bonnie.

The Roadhouse Bar was exactly how Bonnie imagined it would be. Animal heads were mounted on the walls; almost all of the furniture was made out of crafted wood. There was an actual honky tonk band that played all of country music's greatest hits. Couples either did creative two step dances in the area of the restaurant that was designated for dancing, or they played darts, cards, tossed horseshoes, and of course…

Ride the mechanical bull.

Bonnie hadn't exactly worked up the nerve to get on the bull, but she did stare at it occasionally with a longing expression on her face.

Stefan had watched her for most of the night as they chowed down on pulled pork barbeque, corn on the cob, biscuits, and rice while washing it all down with Corona's.

Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" belted from the speakers and several women around the bar held up their beers in salute to the lyrics of the song, especially the part about carving names into leather seats.

Bonnie licked her fingers clean. Her diet on these "impromptu dates" was in the toilet. She wouldn't consider herself a vegetarian, not by a long shot, but Bonnie ate this kind of stuff in moderation, aka once or twice a year. But she could afford to be indulgent tonight.

"Are you ever going to suck up the nerve to hop on the bull?" Stefan asked when Bonnie flicked her eyes back to the contraption after several shouts went up in the air as the bull tossed off its latest victim.

Bonnie looked bewildered for a moment. "I just finished eating. I have to let my food settle."

Stefan chuckled. "Chicken," he said.

"I am not," was Bonnie's rebuttal. "But there's no point in me showing everyone what I just ate for dinner."

Stefan slapped his balled up napkin on his clean plate. "I'm giving you an hour tops and then it's going to be you and the bull."

"Oh yeah," she challenged and placed her elbows on the table. "And what exactly are you going to do if I don't comply with your edict? We're not at REL, Principal Salvatore, and I don't have to take your orders."

His smirk deepened and Stefan leaned over until his nose almost touched Bonnie's. "If you want dessert you will."

Bonnie gulped and wondered why she hadn't slid back in her seat to put some space between them.

"I can buy my own dessert, thank you very much."

"Yeah, you can, but this was your idea and I don't want you to leave here without getting the full experience."

Bonnie picked up her Corona and took a sip. "You're putting all this pressure on me, what about you? Are you going to ride that freakin' bull?"

Stefan let out an exaggerated laugh and stared at her seriously. "Hell no."

Bonnie pursed her lips together and sat back in her chair feeling petulant. "So I should objectify myself and hop on that bull for the viewing audience pleasure while you sit back and do what exactly…take incriminating pictures?"

Principal Salvatore snapped his fingers together. "Now there's something I didn't think about."

Bonnie groaned.

"Look, this isn't about objectification but simply checking your inhibitions at the door and trying something that looks scary and fun in the same measure and having no regrets. Tell me, Bonnie, how many hours of the day are you in control?"

Her eyes narrowed on him. "Sixteen."

"And how many hours a day do you hand control over to someone else?"

"Probably less than two."

"My point exactly. There comes a point in your life where you have to surrender control and just let things flow the way they're supposed to flow. That's how you should look at the bull. It'll throw you around, toss you back and forth, and you might even fall off, but it'll take courage to get back on."

Bonnie smiled. That was the deep side to Stefan that fascinated her. "I love how you just took a mechanical contraption and turned it into a life lesson."

"That's what I aim to do, now get up."

Stefan rose from his seat and pulled Bonnie's chair away from the table. She squealed like a little girl and found strong arms wrapping around her shoulders and the next thing she knew, she was being led towards the bull.

The crowd kind of parted like the Red Sea at Bonnie's approach like this moment had been staged from the beginning. She felt her heart racing underneath her flannel threads, yet she drew strength from Stefan's touch. His hand was planted on the small of her back, and a nice little tingle shot up her spine.

Not two minutes later Bonnie's feet sunk into the padded floor as she hesitantly climbed on the bull, grabbed the handle with her right hand, and slowly inched her left arm in the air to signal she was ready.

At first things started off smoothly and Bonnie was able to find her rhythm and arch her back appropriately so she wouldn't be thrown off. The operator took it up a notch and she started spinning clockwise before she was shifted counterclockwise. Up and down, around and around, she went while the bull undulated underneath her hips.

This was slightly erotic and she had no idea what she might have looked like. In her mind she tried to picture the bull as some strapping guy with movie star good looks. She purposely omitted anyone she knew personally from the building fantasy.

As the ride continued her fingers were screaming because she was holding on so tightly, and the muscles in her back were beginning to protest.

The operator slowed the bull down and Bonnie was surprised she wasn't thrown off. She hopped off, feeling a little bit wobbly and proudly walked out of the pen area with a smug grin on her face. The crowd clapped, cheered, and whistled.

When she approached Stefan he gave her a double high-five. "That was impressive. Are you sure you hadn't done that before?"

"Trust me, I might have secrets but that isn't one of them. It's your turn, cowboy."

The color instantly drained from his face. But then Stefan shrugged and entered the pen.

Several women who were standing around Bonnie screamed so loudly her eardrums rattled in her skull. Had they no shame?

Not to say Bonnie didn't want to join them. Stefan looked remarkably sexy as a cowboy. And the way he mounted that horse made her bite her lip clean through.

The sleeves to his shirt had been rolled up to his elbows allowing Bonnie to opportunity to study the corded muscles in his forearms as they contracted under his olive skin. He held his left arm in the air signaling he was ready. The operator was not as gentle with Stefan as he was with her.

He gritted his teeth, his arm flailed around the air and Bonnie thought it was sure to break. The ladies simply went wild and all sorts of blush-inducing phrases tumbled from their mouths. Bonnie was a hairs breath away from telling them that he's a respected principal but she was sure that would only start another round of obscenities and cat calls about staying after school and being spanked by rulers.

Yeah, watching Stefan ride that bull did cause a dirty thought or two to flash through Bonnie's mind, but she shook it away. Just because their location changed, didn't mean their relationship changed. He was still her boss and viewing him any differently would only mount to leading to more problems.

About fifty seconds in, Stefan was thrown from the bull and landed on his back, but he maintained his smile and quickly got up to his feet.

A few bold ladies attempted to detain him, but Stefan mumbled something that caused them to pout prettily, and eventually he was permitted to saunter his way over to Bonnie.

"That was fairly decent," she said of his run on the bull.

Stefan ran a hand over the back of his neck. She really had no idea how badly his balls were hurting right now.

"Let me buy you a drink," he said because that way he could settle the cold bottle between his legs and have no one think anything of it.

The night wore on and the two of them had played several hands of blackjack with a few other patrons. Bonnie lost to Stefan in darts, but killed it in the horseshoe toss. They attempted line dancing and couples two-stepping where they pretty much lacked coordination because they were a touch inebriated.

A photographer had been circling the establishment all night looking to memorialize the patrons and placing the best looking couples on their Hall of Fame wall. The photographer paused in front of Bonnie and Stefan who did away with traditional country dancing, and simply rocked back in forth sharing smiles and whispering things to each other.

"Excuse me, but would you mind if I took your picture for our Hall of Fame wall?"

"Sure," Stefan agreed, slurring his words a bit. He moved until he and Bonnie stood side by side with his arm thrown over her shoulder. "It's our anniversary," he winked at the photographer.

Bonnie's smile turned into a scowl, but the photographer had managed to capture the moment anyways and beamed at them.

"Well, happy anniversary. Y'all make such a cute couple. Come see me near the DJ booth for a copy if you want one."

Stefan placed himself in front of Bonnie again and attempted to start dancing again yet he stilled. The fierce expression on her face would have scared off a grizzly bear.

"Smile," he said. "It is our anniversary."

"That woman thinks we're married."

Stefan shrugged. He wasn't seeing the problem with that. Bonnie could do nothing more than shake her head and then disengaged herself from her boss's arms.

"I need to use the restroom and then I think we should call it a night. We have work in the morning."

Bonnie didn't wait for his response; she merely headed for the ladies room.

However, someone caught her by the elbow once she reached the alcove and she was lightly shoved against the wall.

Surprise and anger flashed in her eyes, her nostrils flared and she was two seconds from burying her knee in the guy's crotch when she realized it was Stefan and not some pervert.

"Why do you do that?" he demanded.

"Do what?"

"Always put up a wall? Are you against having a good time?"

She folded her arms defensively over her chest. "No, I'm not against having a good time, but you are my boss, Stefan. Being here tonight doesn't change that."

"And I'm not asking you to change it but don't you get tired of living in boundaries? You've been limiting yourself, Bonnie and I don't understand why. You're the best administrator I have, but what else are you good at? What else do you like to do? We've worked together for four years yet I still feel like we're strangers."

"Employers and employees should have certain boundaries in place that shouldn't be crossed no matter what. That's my philosophy and I'm sorry you don't like it. I love working with you and at REL, but if my…lack of a personal life is going to be a problem for you, then perhaps I need to move on somewhere else."

Stefan searched her eyes for a moment and saw she was being perfectly serious. He let go of her and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm not asking for total disclosure, Bonnie, and I understand why you've placed limits on yourself, but really…the only person I see not benefiting from it…is you. I'm going to go take care of the check."

Bonnie watched him walk away and was two seconds from calling him back, but the door to the ladies room flew open and a pair of giggling women traipsed out.

It seemed the whole world was having fun except Bonnie Bennett.

* * *

><p>Needless to say the car ride back to her house was silent and awkward. Stefan didn't kill the engine to his car once he pulled in front of Bonnie's house. She had kept her gaze locked outside the window the entire time while jazz music filled the silence between them. She did enjoy herself until she took that moment with the photographer way more seriously than she needed to.<p>

But why was it so hard for everyone to realize that this is who she was and she was too stuck in her ways to change or too afraid to make the first step in changing? Bonnie wished she could be free like Caroline who said exactly what was on her mind, and did whatever struck her fancy. She wished she had Elena's boldness to purse a career with a very short life expectancy, yet it afforded her the opportunity to mix and mingle with so many talented people from all over the globe.

She worked in a private school system and as such Bonnie placed herself into the no-nonsense strict educator who only cared about the bottom line.

And when she was honest with herself, other than her profession, Bonnie had nothing else.

She shifted a little and faced her boss who was staring out of the windshield. "I'm sorry I ruined the night."

Stefan looked at her over the console. The streetlight cast an odd yet attractive shadow over his face.

"You didn't ruin the night. I was out of line in what I said."

"No, you weren't. Your opinion means a lot to me, Stefan."

"And you working beside me means a lot to me, Bonnie. Perhaps I just want more for you than you want for yourself. I know I didn't come off that way, but…for as long as we've worked together, I can't really say I know you. I might know your preferences when it comes to professional things, but the personal…there's nothing but a void there."

Bonnie could only nod her head. When she was younger she had difficulty in opening up to people, mainly because her parents hardly ever talked with her, asked her questions. It was all about delegating and delving out orders that she was expected to follow without question. So there was a disconnect there.

"I want to be open with people, but it's hard. My parents, they never really talked to me or my sister or each other. Don't get me wrong, my dad was a good dad, but he was clueless on how to relate to his kids. And I guess that makes me a little clueless on how to relate to people."

Stefan turned off the engine. Here was his golden opportunity to crack Bonnie just a tad bit out of her shell.

"You don't have to start big. You can take gradual steps," he offered. "Not being social wasn't an option in my household. My parents, mom especially, was real big on entertaining. So from the age of five until I graduated college I was reared in the art of being charismatic. I was able to choose how transparent I wanted to be, or vague, or indifferent. I had control in how far I was going to let someone in, but you want to know the awesome thing I learned, that opening up to people saved me from making dumb decisions and it kept feeling alone at bay."

Bonnie's eyes slipped down to her fingers as she twisted them in her lap, and mulled his words over in her head.

"Okay, Stefan, ask me any question and I'll do my best not to give you a standard response."

They sat in his car for the next two hours just having conversation which had nothing to do with them being boss and employee.

Stefan walked Bonnie to her door. They stared at one another. It had been a cathartic experience for Bonnie to finally take down a few bricks and let someone see the actual woman who lived inside of her. And she couldn't have chosen a better person to let her guard down with. She knew Stefan would keep what was said between them just that, between them.

Yeah, she saw Damon's post about their "date" on Facebook just an hour after they departed ways. The man had no couth.

"This was by far our best anniversary yet," Stefan said.

"It was. Thank you for putting up with me."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Bonnie. You're a wonderful person to be around. "

Bonnie tilted her head just a tad bit as she smiled up at her boss. The air around them suddenly became charged and Bonnie's eyes widened just a bit. Here she found herself in the kiss or not to kiss situation—again.

Stefan felt the change as well, but knew it was far too soon to try anything. So instead of going for her lips which were practically beginning to be tasted, he leaned in for a hug. Bonnie was a little stiff yet she relaxed into his embrace and enjoyed it for a second or two before she released him.

"I'll see you in the morning…Principal Salvatore," she grinned and then slipped inside her home.

**A/N: I had Stefan and Bonnie's date planned for a while but hadn't gotten around to actually writing it down until now. I'm glad her dates are over and I can move on with the rest of the story. I do have to caution that updates for this will be slow. So I can't promise you when the next chapter will be up, but thanks for stopping by, reading, reviewing, adding to your list of favorites, none of it is taken for granted. Love you guys!**


	6. Casino Night

**A/N: Back by popular demand lol. Admittedly I started working on this chapter months ago, but lost interest in it. But I caught a tiny, and I do mean tiny muse, and here is the finished product. Enjoy! And thank you so much for your patience. **

Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

Bonnie's feet pounded against the pavement while her eyes were busy going over the long list of items she needed to pick up from the grocery store. It was Cassie's turn to do the shopping but she suddenly fell ill and was running a fever. More than likely she got sick because she had snuck out of the house to attend a house party that she had no business attending.

Since she was so busy looking at the paper in front of her eyes and not where she was actually walking, it came as no surprise she'd crash into a hard chest and stumble on her feet.

"Easy there," the deep gravelly voice said as two strong hands caught Bonnie by the shoulders to keep her butt from kissing the pavement.

The apples of her cheeks filled with blood. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up at the poor victim of her carelessness.

"Dean!" she brightened and then, cleared her throat. She shouldn't be this happy to see him because she saw him everyday. However this was her first time running into him outside of the loud halls of REL.

"Bonnie, I know I turned in my grades last minute, but I didn't think you'd try to tackle me because of it."

Bonnie quirked her lips before chuckling. "You're hilarious, Dean."

His eyes quickly perused her. She was fashionably dressed in a pair of jeans, ankle boots with three inch heels, and her black pea coat. Her makeup was flawless and he wondered if she moonlighted as a petite model.

Bonnie blushed because it was more than obvious Dean was checking her out with his aquamarine eyes.

"About to do some shopping?" he asked once he drank his fill.

Bonnie nodded her head and held up her list. "Cassie is sick so I have to pick up some things to make homemade chicken noodle soup. It was one of the things my mom taught me before she…" Bonnie clammed up once she realized she was about to disclose more than she wanted to about her personal life. Her talk with Stefan on the night of their work anniversary made Bonnie come to terms with the fact she didn't need to be guarded all the time; that it was okay to let people in just a little. She was still in an adjustment period, but she wasn't quite ready to develop diarrhea of the mouth.

Dean had his absolute attention focused on her. Her mouth formed such interesting lines and circles when she talked he found himself staring at it as if he were being put into a trance.

He wasn't shy about his attraction to Bonnie. From the first day they met he felt something between them, and it wasn't lost on him that Bonnie was more open towards him than she was with her other male colleagues. And though most wouldn't peg him for being shrewd or being observant, he knew Bonnie stopped her story because she was traveling to a territory she wasn't familiar with.

"Never mind," Bonnie recovered and waved her words off with a dismissive hand. She looked down and noticed he held two shopping bags in his hands. "I didn't mean to hold you up."

"Right," Dean realized he was holding his purchases. He had been on his way to his car to head home and start preparations for poker night. "Are you still coming? Cassie being sick and all?"

"I'll be there. Once she eats some soup and take some medicine she'll be out for the rest of the night. But her friend, Deanne, she's going to stop by and keep her company."

Dean cocked a half smile glad that Bonnie wouldn't be standing him up. "Good, glad to hear it. I'll let you get in there, then."

"Okay," Bonnie said and walked around Dean and entered the store.

He stood for a moment- thinking. His food wouldn't spoil if he didn't get it home right away. And it was cold enough outside it would provide some refrigeration. Decision made, Dean dumped his bags in the trunk of his Impala and then hustled back inside the store. He grabbed a shopping basket and then nonchalantly looked up and down the aisles trying to find Bonnie.

He found her in the pharmacy section of the store. She was busy reading the back of a box of cough syrup.

Seeing she was totally engrossed in reading the tiny writing on the box, he easily saddled up next to her.

Bonnie became aware that Dean was standing next to her. She looked up at him while he was busy searching the rack for something.

"Looking for something?" she asked.

Dean jumped back a little in surprise as if he hadn't known she was standing right there. "Bonnie! What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"

She rolled her eyes and slipped the cough medicine in her buggy. "I should be asking you that. Are you trying to decide what itching cream you need?"

He chuckled and picked up a package of Preparation H. "I should get this for Klaus. Guy certainly walks around uptight like he has hemorrhoids."

She couldn't help it, Bonnie snickered. "You shouldn't talk about your colleagues like that."

Dean dipped his head as if he had been chastised. "But seriously…I get that he's English, but is it really necessary for him to let everyone know how much starter he is because he went to Oxford?"

Bonnie shrugged a shoulder. "He's a proud man and he has every reason to be." Bonnie wouldn't expose Klaus' secret, that he was a lord and came from a powerful family in England. There was no need to give everyone more ammunition to hate him.

And Dean certainly didn't like Bonnie coming to his defense, but then checked himself. That was just the type of woman she was.

He followed behind Bonnie as she pushed her cart down the aisle making her way to the produce section.

"I heard that you and Principal Salvatore just celebrated an anniversary."

Bonnie focused all of her attention on picking out the perfect onion. "Yeah. It's just this thing we do each year."

"I've worked with supervisors who weren't total dicks but other than grabbing a beer after work, I certainly didn't go out of my way to hang around them. It's…nice to see that boss's and employees can be friends."

And there was something in Dean's tone which told Bonnie he didn't think it was nice at all. She quickly flicked her eyes at him. Was he digging for dirt to fuel rumors, or…was he trying to insert his claim? Dean had the same chance to be with her just like everyone else she found herself "dating".

He figured from her silence that he may have overstepped his boundaries. "Hey, it's none of my business," he added a smile to prove his comment was all in good fun.

"Stefan and I knew each other in high school. He dated my best friend. We have a history but it's always been platonic."

Dean nodded his head, glad to hear that news. "Did you know his brother in school, too?"

Bonnie shook her head and bagged two onions. "Damon graduated a year before I even started high school. Why don't you tell me more about your brother? Sam, that's his name, right?"

Dean nodded his head. "He's…the exact opposite of me," he smiled ruefully. "He stayed as far away from the military and government and went to go study law at Stanford."

Bonnie lifted her brows. She was impressed. "Does he work as a lawyer?"

"No, he's actually a private investigator for the police."

"Hmm…did he not graduate?"

Dean shook his head. "He graduated…at the top of his class. He practiced for a few years but became disenfranchised. So he quit right when he was about to become partner. Mama was not happy about that. He was just tired of working the long hours and it…wasn't as satisfying as he thought it would be…corporate law. Twisting the law to find loopholes to close down mom and pop shops so huge conglomerates could build condos no one can afford."

"But he's happy doing what he's doing?"

"Yeah," Dean scratched a spot on the back of his neck. "He's helped find missing children, teens, reunited families. He loves it."

Bonnie smiled. "You sound really proud of your little brother."

"I am," Dean admitted. "I had to take him under my wing when our pop died."

Hearing about Dean's late father made Bonnie think of her dad. She pushed her cart towards the meat section next.

Dean knew Bonnie was still dealing with the passing of her father. "I'm sorry," he said.

"No, its fine," she sniffed. "It just hits me from time to time…that my dad is gone."

"You loved him very much. It's understandable you'd be sad that he's not here."

Bonnie looked at him and offered up a perfunctory smile. "Yeah."

They grew silent for a second. Dean was kind of at a loss on how to recover their conversation. "I should go. I need to get the spare bedroom ready for Sammy, and I got meatball subs to fix."

Bonnie laughed a bit. "You and your obsession with red meat. You do know that eating large quantities of red meat can lead to cancer and heart attack."

"Thank you, Mss PSA..."

Bonnie chuckled.

"But if I'm going to go I'm going to go happy."

Bonnie nodded her head. She could certainly agree with his philosophy. "All right, Winchester. I'll see you promptly at six."

"Oh, could you stop by a little earlier? I'd like to give you an official tour of the house before it gets crazy."

Bonnie only hesitated for a second. "Sure. Five-thirty is that good?"

He gave her a thumbs up and began heading down the other end of the aisle. "Sounds like a winner."

* * *

><p>At exactly 5:30 his doorbell rang. Dean checked his reflection in the mirror that was hung on the opposite wall from the door. He pulled his lips back from his teeth to make sure no food was stuck, slicked back a rebellious piece of hair, and then made sure there weren't any stains on his snug navy blue T-shirt.<p>

He opened the door and smiled at the woman standing on his welcome mat.

From what he could tell Bonnie had changed from the outfit he saw her in at the grocery store. She had changed into another pair of dark denim jeans that molded to her legs like a second skin. She wore a white T-shirt with some type of graphic design that she paired with a black blazer which had quarter length sleeves. And on her feet were a sexy pair of boots.

"Welcome," Dean said and stepped aside so Bonnie could enter.

She did so and pulled from behind her back a bottle of whiskey.

When he saw her offering Dean could only shake his head in pride. It was official. He was in love.

He took the bottle from Bonnie and saw that it was his favorite brand. He stared at her in shock. "How did you know this was my favor brand of liquor?"

Bonnie shrugged and pivoted to face him. Right now they were standing in the area that doubled being the kitchen and living room.

"A little birdie might have told me," she hedged. Her eyes looked around. His one story bungalow was definitely decorated like a bachelor's pad. In the living room there was a black leather section couch with a ridiculously huge flat screen high definition TV resting on a lacquered tabled. Pictures of Dean's favorite sports teams and professional sports players graced the wall along with images of Elvis, Foo Fighters, Journey, and countless others.

His kitchen was your standard kitchen which offered a cutting space next to the stainless steel stove. And along the sink, dozens of alcohol bottles were lined up.

"Yeah, that's my bar area," he said a bit sheepishly. Dean entered the kitchen and stashed the whiskey Bonnie gave him. "I don't want to share that with everybody who's coming tonight," he explained.

Bonnie merely tucked her lips in. Dean stepped out of the kitchen and then waved with his hand for Bonnie to follow him.

He began in the living room where he showed her his music and DVD collection. They had severely different tastes in music and movies. Dean preferred rock and heavy metal and shoot 'em up movies whereas Bonnie liked R&B, Neo-Soul, and romantic comedies.

He showed her the guest bedroom where Sam would be sleeping. There was a bed with a plaid comforter. The matching drapes covered the lone window in the room. Simple, neat, and clean is how Bonnie would described it.

Next came the half bathroom that looked practically institutional.

"And now the moment of truth," Dean said as he gripped the handle to the closed door. "My bedroom."

Bonnie gave no outward emotion she was about to enter his private sanctum. Dean threw open the door and flicked on the light.

Bonnie stood just inside the threshold as she took in all she was seeing. As chaotic as the rest of the house might have been, Dean's room was filled with nothing but order. It was decorated in hues of chocolate and turquoise. His king sized bed was perfectly made up. There wasn't anything out of place. The surface of his end tables were spotless, the only thing marring them were Tiffani lamps. Hanging on both sides of his bed were Japanese letters.

"Peace and Serenity," Bonnie said aloud.

Dean was a bit surprised. "You know what they say?"

She nodded and entered his room. She also noticed it had a fresh scent, his scent, and she sucked as much of it into her lungs. "I have the same words on the wall in my bathroom."

It took a lot of effort for Dean not to close the door to his room and just fall into bed with Bonnie. But he was expecting a house full of people, not to mention his brother, and Bonnie wasn't that kind of woman. She looked liked the type to be romanced in the traditional way: flowers, candy, romantic dinners and overtures.

If you knew Dean you knew he had the romantic finesse of a wooly mammoth.

But he couldn't stop his thoughts from tumbling to his happy place as he imagined Bonnie lying on her belly, gripping the wooden bars of his head board as he pounded into her from the back.

"You have a beautiful room, Dean."

He shook his head and then shrugged. "I try to do the best that I can."

As he was talking Bonnie hadn't noticed how close he was standing next to her. When she looked into his eyes and noticed that they had darkened to a hunter green color and that his lips were slightly parted, his cologne ran up her nose making her nostrils flare. The air around them became charged.

Bonnie gulped nervously. "Dean…"

He couldn't stop himself, not even if he wanted to. Dean brushed her hair off her shoulders. He just needed to touch her, any part of her.

Dean closed the space that was keeping them apart. Bonnie gulped again and felt blood roaring in her ears.

His eyes dropped to her lips and he bent just bit. Bonnie inclined her head to meet him halfway and of course that's when the doorbell would decide to ring.

Bonnie sprang away from him, and laughed nervously. She cleared her throat. "You should get that."

Dean cursed in his head and stomped his way out of his bedroom. Whoever it was, was impatient and began banging on the door.

"What?" he barked and threw the door open to find his brother standing on the other side. All irritation about the "almost kiss" fled Dean and he threw an arm around his little brother. "Sammy! Took your ass long enough to get here."

Sam looked affronted but then wrote off his brother's words with the roll of his hazel green eyes. "Nice to see you two…bitch."

Dean chuckled and then reached down and grabbed one of his brother's bags and brought it into the house.

"Sammy, I want you to meet my friend Bonnie. Bonnie this is my little brother Sam."

_Little, _Bonnie thought as she looked at the tree in front of her. He might have been little when he was two years old, but there was definitely nothing little about him now.

Sam first looked at his brother and mouthed "She's hot."

Dean winked. "I know," he mouthed back.

Bonnie just stood there kind of feeling put on the spot and left out of the loop. She stretched out a hand towards the towering man with the long chestnut hair. Yeah, she really wasn't seeing any kind of resemblance between Dean and Sam, but from the camaraderie she witnessed between them so far they were close. Much closer than two other brothers she knew.

Sam took her hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Bonnie. I feel like I should ask why you're friends with my brother."

Dean kicked Sam with his boot as he made his way to dump his luggage in the spare bedroom. "Don't be a prick, Sam."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Bonnie said. This was throwing her for a loop, hearing the way they insulted one another but did so out of good, clean fun, and not animosity. "And I'm sorry…but you're just so tall."

Sam chortled and dropped her warm hand. "No one's ever said that to me before," he teased. "How long have you known Dean?"

"Only for a few months."

Sam crossed his mammoth arms over his broad chest. "Oh, so you've only been dealing with his secretary, you haven't met the boss yet."

Dean came out of the bedroom. "Don't start, Sam, damn. You've barely been here two minutes."

Sam snickered and then dropped the act. "Hey, she just needs to know what she's getting herself into. No, really it's good to meet Dean's friends. For a while I was worried if he'd ever make any. He can be such a little girl when things don't go his way."

From the kitchen Dean flipped his brother the bird. Sam grabbed the gesture and made a show of stuffing it in his pocket.

"Where can I go and wash these plane germs off me, bro?" Sam asked.

Dean pointed down the hall. "First door on the right, and please try to remember to flush and wash your hands."

"You'd think I was raised by wolves to hear him talk…but considering he did raise me, I guess that's a fair assumption."

"Get!" Dean said and threw a balled up piece of paper at his brother who made his way to the guest room. Once they were alone he looked at Bonnie who looked completely out of her element.

"Sorry about that," he apologized and joined her in the living room. "We have a tendency to act our shoe size and not our age when we get around one another."

"No, it's cool," Bonnie smiled. "I can tell you're both really close to one another."

They took a seat on the sectional. "Yeah, he's been my wingman for a long time. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Sure. A Corona if you have any."

Dean looked impressed.

Bonnie folded her arms over her chest. "Didn't think I drank beer?" she asked.

Dean rose from the couch. "No. I pegged you as a white zinfandel chick or something like that."

"I do," Bonnie followed him into the kitchen. "But I also like a good beer."

Dean pulled out three beers from the fridge figuring Sam would want one. He twisted the top off and handed the bottle to Bonnie. Once Dean took the top off of his, they clinked their bottles and guzzled.

"Do you need help setting anything out?" Bonnie asked.

Dean opened the stainless steel fridge. "I'm glad you reminded me. I got these veggie trays because some of my friend's girls are vegetarians." He looked over his shoulder to look at Bonnie and grinned knowingly. "So I think you'll fit right in with that particular group."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and then reached for the tray and arranged it on the kitchen island. They worked in companionable silence for a while before the door bell sounded. Bonnie's heart took off in her chest. She wondered if she'd fit in with the rest of Dean's friends, as she self-consciously ran her hands over her jeans, and fluffed out her hair.

Dean had been observing her. "You look beautiful," he told her as he went to go open the door. Bonnie was glad his back was to her because otherwise he would have seen her blush. Sam came out of the bedroom dressed in another flannel shirt only this one was white and black. He stood beside Bonnie towering over her, making her feel like a garden gnome.

"Troy…Curt…Reggie what's up?" Dean greeted his friends, all of them doing some variation of an elaborate handshake that made Bonnie's eyes roll like marbles in her head.

Once the guys entered the living room, three beautiful women entered in. Each of them of a different nationality but were all fundamentally young probably no more than twenty-five years old at the most. Each female greeted Dean with a hug as he placed kisses on cheeks.

The six newcomers eyed Dean's new place while slipping off coats. Troy and Curt strolled over and hugged Sam with the same familiarity they shared with Dean. They began talking and laughing boisterously as Bonnie stood off to the side feeling awkward.

Dean moved beyond his friends, took her by the hand and drew her into the mix. "Everyone this is my friend Bonnie. Bonnie this is Troy," he pointed at a Caucasian male with black hair and green eyes. "Reggie," was a tall African American man with sage dark brown eyes and a mustache. He winked at Bonnie, she smiled in return. "Curt," was an average height biracial man in his late twenties. "And," Dean swung Bonnie around to face the three females who were staring at her speculatively. "This is Angie, Troy's girl."

Angie, a statuesque Filipino with jet black hair and slanted eyes held out a hand for Bonnie to shake, which she did.

Next she was introduced to Tina also of biracial heritage who was with Curt. And Dean ended the introductions with Leila, the only other short woman in the room besides Bonnie. She was of the same complexion as Bonnie with charcoal eyes.

"And y'all know this doofus," Dean said in reference to Sam who tried to look offended but only snickered. He greeted the women in the same fashion as his big brother.

Dean clapped his hands together and moved back to the kitchen. "Who's ready to sign over their paycheck to yours truly?"

The grumbles and name calling started again.

Bonnie didn't know the first thing about playing poker, so she merely sat with the other females and watched. Leila was the first out of the bunch to sit at the table with the guys and started shuffling cards as if she worked in a casino.

Angie and Tina leaned over and whispered. "Leila is about to hustle the boxer briefs off those morons."

Tina turned her hazel-green eyes on Bonnie, ready to start the inquisition. "So how long have you known Dean?"

"Only a few months. We work together."

Tina and Angie lifted their eyebrows in unison.

Tina said, "I still find it hard to believe that Dean is a teacher. I mean sure, he can be nice enough, but really the man has the attention span of a fly. Teaching demands a lot of patience, right?" she was looking at Bonnie waiting for her to agree before continuing. Bonnie nodded her head. "But if you saw something in Dean worth investing in…that makes you family in my book."

Bonnie smiled in relief. She passed the girlfriend(s) test. She felt the last of her reserves melting away, relaxing her muscles so much that Bonnie joined the action at the table, sliding up a chair right next to Dean.

He couldn't keep the smug grin off his face. "How bout a kiss for luck?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes and figured why not? But first, she drowned a shot of vodka, and lightly, very tenderly placed her lips on his stubble covered cheek.

Naturally this caused all the men to go "Awwwww."

"Shadup," Dean demanded and proceeded to wipe the floor clean with everybody.

After three cases of beer were empty along with a bottle of tequila, and two bottles of vodka, everyone had settled in front of the tube to watch midnight boxing on HBO. Bonnie yawned, decided it was time to call it a night and check up on Cassie who should be in bed.

She tapped Dean lightly on the arm to get his attention. "Yeah, babe?" he said.

A warm tingle went through Bonnie upon hearing that endearment. "It's time for me to head home."

Dean pouted but hefted his weight off the sofa and to his feet. He held out a hand for Bonnie and pulled her up. This pulled everyone's attention away from the action taking place on the TV screen.

Troy spoke up. "Have we scared you away already? We were on our best behavior tonight."

"No, I just have to head home. I have a sick kid sister to check on so…I got to call it a night."

All the girls stood up and engulfed Bonnie in their arms and made declarations to meet up at a later date for dinner and drinks. They had exchanged phone numbers earlier, and it felt good to know she had other adult females she could connect with since she lived worlds apart from her two best friends.

Sam kissed both of her cheeks and told her not to be a stranger. Bonnie promised him she wouldn't be and even went so far as to offer to cook breakfast before he caught his flight home.

"She's a keeper," Sam elbowed Dean and went back to yelling at the screen like everyone else.

Closing the front door after him, Dean walked Bonnie to her car. It was freezing out and he didn't bother with grabbing his jacket, but he did stuff his hands in his pockets.

Using her electronic remote, Bonnie unlocked the car. Dean grabbed the handle before she could and opened her door.

She smiled shyly up at him. "I had fun tonight. Thanks for inviting me."

He winked at her. "Any time. I'm glad you got to spend sometime with my brother and my friends. Those people in there are my family. There's not much I wouldn't do for them."

"And the feeling is mutual," Bonnie told him. "Well, Mr. Winchester…"

"Miss Bennett…"

Bonnie reached in for a hug to which Dean drew her as close as he could without snapping her spine. Bonnie discreetly inhaled his scent, locking it into memory. Unbeknownst to her, Dean was doing the same thing. He was trying to identify the brand of shampoo she used when she pulled back slightly and stared into his eyes.

He wanted to kiss her and made that intent plain on his face. Bonnie didn't move a muscle but smiled shakily in silent invitation for him to make his move.

And he did, quickly clearing the space separating them. His warm lips sealed over hers, drinking her in. How many _years _had it been since she was kissed like she was a goddess walking amongst mortals? Too many. And Bonnie for one wanted to make up for lost time.

Dean had kissed his fair share of women. Would he consider himself a Casanova, far from it, but he had pleasing a woman down to a science. He made love to Bonnie's mouth, drawing her lips and tongue into his mouth at a slow and languorous pace. There was no need to rush anything despite the fact the rest of his body was never slow to follow whenever he made out with a woman he was deeply attracted to. Bonnie's lips were compliant under his, giving as much as receiving, and he knew right there he could never get tired of tasting her mouth.

She needed to come up for air but the desire to remain latched on to Dean overrode that necessity. Her fingers slid up his chest only to bury themselves in the hair on the nape of his neck. Her nails scratched his scalp causing shivers to race up his spine. He hummed in her mouth, and brought her even closer.

Reluctantly Bonnie pulled away. Dean didn't let that stop him from peppering kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

She giggled slightly, ran her hands over his back. "Good night, Dean."

He groaned in response to her salutation before reluctantly pulling away. Dean stood to his full height, maintaining eye contact with her. "_Damn_, woman," he cleared his throat. "Good night, Bonnie," he said in a much deeper voice. "Drive safely and let me know you made it home all right."

"Will do," Bonnie giggled.

Five minutes later Bonnie drove off and Dean remained rooted to the spot catching hypothermia.

* * *

><p>No one hated Monday mornings more than Damon. He had had a long weekend having flown to Las Vegas, spur of the moment, and lost at least half his fortune, but he had a good time doing it. Now armed with a mug full of black coffee laced with bourbon, dark Rayban shades to cover his bloodshot eyes, and iPod earbubs plugged into his ears, he entered the faculty conference room for the mandatory Monday meeting.<p>

He found a seat in the far back and slid all the way down hoping to shield his presence. Other teachers and staff began to trickle in. Some murmured good morning to him, others ignored his presence altogether—which is how he preferred it. Klaus and his sister Rebekah entered the room together looking poised and annoyingly English. Stefan came in followed by the administrative assistant who was carrying a large stack of papers.

Damon swept the room with his eyes. Bonnie was MIA and so was that douche Dean Winchester. The last visages of his hangover began to ebb away because he smelled Bonnie long before he saw her.

She sailed into the room appearing as if she fell out of the pages of Harper's Bazaar magazine. Her hair was down, wavy, makeup tasteful and highlighting her best features, her attire was attention grabbing. He certainly couldn't look away and as he glanced around the room, Damon noticed he wasn't the only one with that problem. He sat up a bit straighter in his seat hoping she might single him out in the crowd. There were two empty seats near him but he already knew that Bonnie would take her place by Stefan's side.

Nevertheless, Damon was unable or unwilling to take his eyes off Bonnie. For all intents and purposes she looked as if she was glowing, and she was smizing—smiling with her eyes and with her mouth, which was a rarity. Bonnie smiled but it was always formal and a bit detached and cold. She was now effectively smiling with her soul thrown into it.

What the hell or _who_ the hell had she done this weekend?

Damon's eyes narrowed when Dean walked into the room, smug as usual. He said hello to Stefan, and then approached Bonnie who chose not to take a seat but to stand up against the wall. He joined her, standing in Damon's estimation several feet too close to her. They began engaging in a conversation, Bonnie's head was turned away so Damon couldn't see the emotions being displayed on her face, but Dean was grinning like a loon.

The contents of Damon's stomach began to lurch at the thoughts that began plaguing his mind. She wouldn't? Why wouldn't she? His mind countered. Because she's not that type of woman. How would you know?

And that was what bothered him the most. Damon knew Bonnie longer than Dean, but apparently it was Dean's company she obviously preferred over everyone else's. When Damon looked at Klaus he saw the Brit's lips had shriveled as if he had eaten an entire lemon. Stefan didn't look that much happier about Bonnie's apparent favoritism towards the new guy.

This was not good on so many levels.

Stefan abruptly started the meeting, his tone a little sharper than usual. Inwardly, Damon chuckled. Touched a nerve, hmm.

Damon never really listened at these meetings. If Stefan had an issue with him specifically he knew where Damon could be found to hash it out. Nevertheless, he kept his eyes plastered on the couple holding up the wall.

Sometime later the meeting was adjourned and Damon quickly got to his feet and approached Bonnie who had resumed whatever deep conversation she had been having with Dean beforehand.

He slipped off his shades hoping the redness to his eyes had gone away. If not, he could always blame it on allergies.

"Bonnie," Damon drew out her name.

She turned to face him, annoyance clearly written on her face. "_Mr_. Salvatore," she replied succinctly.

Damon didn't spare Dean a single look or acknowledgement.

"Do you mind?" Dean directed at Damon. "We were in the middle of an important conversation."

"Actually I do mind because there's a serious matter I need to discuss with _Miss_ Bennett if it's all right with you."

Klaus strolled up next. "Aw, good morning, all," he said cheerily although barely concealed anger was clearly written in his dark blue eyes. "Bonnie about that proposal I brought to your attention a few weeks back. Have you given it any further consideration?"

She was feeling trapped and her back _was_ literally up against the wall. Bonnie looked at the three men crowding her space. She gulped nervously and sighed in relief when she saw Stefan approaching, assuming he would help get her out of this pissing contest.

"Gentlemen, the meeting is over and you all have class," Stefan said pointedly.

No one moved a muscle.

"I'm sure I just heard myself speak," Stefan retorted. "Damon?"

"Yeah," the dark-haired man replied without taking his eyes off Bonnie.

"You smell like you just came from a bar. Go home and sleep it off."

Upon hearing that, Damon did an about face and glared at Stefan. "Are you asking me or telling me."

Stefan stood toe-to-toe with his brother. "I don't have to ask you anything. When we're in this building, I'm your boss, and you'll do as I say. Go home. You show up drunk again and that's it."

"I'm not drunk," Damon quickly refuted. "I'm hung over. There's a vast difference."

Bonnie sprung into action and slipped out of the pentagon that had been formed around her. She gently laid a hand on Damon's arm and tugged him after her. He was only too happy to follow.

She didn't stop walking until they reached her office where she promptly shut the door. Bonnie looked intently in his eyes and noticed they were glassy and blood shot. When she reached for his black mug, Damon held it out of reach.

"Hand it over," she demanded.

"You already know what's inside. Am I fired? Should I head down to the unemployment office now?" he rolled his silver-blue eyes.

Bonnie sighed and shook her head. "Why do you insist on breaking all the rules?"

"What did you do this weekend, Bonnie?"

Her jaw dropped open with the change in topic direction. "I don't see how any of that is your business or what it has to do with the fact you showed up for work intoxicated. Not to mention you're drinking on school grounds. If Stefan wasn't your brother your ass would be bouncing along the pavement right this second."

Damon began smiling like a lunatic. "I didn't know you cared so much."

Bonnie pinched the bridge of her nose out of frustration. "Damon, can you be serious for five minutes, please?" she said exasperatedly. "I'm going to call you a cab. You're suspended for two days."

"What?" he asked incredulously. "You can't do that!"

"I'm this school's administrator, so yes I can. Whether you want to be or not you are a role model to the students you teach and even to the ones you don't. In case you haven't notice half the male student population emulates you, Damon. Is this," she reached for the mug and successfully pulled it out his hands, "what you want to teach them about being responsible? You want them to think it's acceptable to show up for work unprepared but above all that drunk! That's not the environment we're trying to cultivate here."

Bonnie slammed the mug down on the edge of her desk and turned back around to face a petulant looking Damon. "Two days."

"Fine," he barked at her wishing her could tell her how much she sucked but he didn't want to push his luck. Damon threw her door open and flew out of the office causing a lot of people to crane out of their cubicles.

Sighing, Bonnie walked around her desk, pulled out her chair and plopped into it. She wasn't alone for two minutes before someone tapped on her door.

"What?" she said tersely.

Dean was looming under the threshold. "Catch you at a bad time?"

Bonnie pursed her lips together. Leave it up to Damon to FedEx her happy mood to hell. This weekend had been one of the best weekends she had in a long time, and she was trying desperately to get back that light feeling. Seeing Dean was helping yet she was still very much irritated.

Bonnie didn't like being cornered or put on display and what happened in the conference room, more to the matter her other colleagues, really pressed her threshold of tolerance. She wasn't that girl. She wasn't the kind of woman who thrived off being chased by virile male specimens, and Bonnie wasn't sure she was cut out for that type of life. She could really kick Cassie's ass for setting all of this in motion.

Nevertheless, Bonnie waved Dean into her office. He did so, closed the door, and sat down in the chair across from her desk.

"How does he still have a job here?" Dean posed the million dollar question.

"Nepotism," Bonnie responded dryly.

Dean nodded. "I figured as much. You gonna to be all right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but…do you ever want more for someone than they want for themselves?"

"Oh, yeah," Dean snorted automatically thinking about Sam. "But that's the thing with people. Most of the time they don't think they deserve more or better than what they're getting. And trying to convince them otherwise sometimes feels like an uphill battle."

When he wanted to be, Dean could be insightful.

"So the best thing you can do is be there when they hit rock bottom." With that Dean rose from the chair. "I better get to my class. We still on for lunch in the Pit?"

Bonnie smiled. "I'll see you there with my bio-hazard suit on."

Dean winked and left her office. Bonnie picked up the phone and called that cab for Damon.

Chapter end.

**A/N: So Bonnie finally got a little action. I can't promise when the next update might follow. If you follow my other stories you know where my attention is right now, but I wanted to give those who have been faithfully waiting an update-something. Am I happy with this? Nope. But I'm rarely satisfied with anything I write, because the bottom line is for YOU to enjoy it. And I hope you did. Love you guys.**


	7. Let Down Your Hair

**A/N: It's been a long time since I've updated this. All the guys are still vying for Bonnie's attention. This will probably be the last "slow" chapter before things get kicked up a notch hopefully. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

"GO BIG RED!...GO BIG RED!" the Timberwolves cheerleaders hyped up the crowd and spurred on the basketball players as the gym was one large hive of kinetic energy. The excitement of the close game singed in Bonnie's veins as she and many others sat on the edge of their seats watching the players pound up and down the court with only seconds left remaining in the game.

With the Timberwolves trailing behind by four points with less than fifteen seconds remaining, their starring point guard Julian Baxter pointed out where he wanted the rest of his team to go as they played both defense and offense at the same time.

"Come on, Julian!" Bonnie shouted, getting into the action. She loved basketball. It could be a thousand times more exciting than football. But what she loved most were the pre-season exhibition games where there was less pressure to perform but was still exhilarating in its own right.

Sitting to her left was Rebekah who was busy sending out tweets, and to her right was Stefan. He was as into the game as Bonnie was that sometimes he forgot he was sitting next to her entirely.

They hadn't arrived at the game together. It was just coincidence they walked through the doors at the same time, slightly caught off guard at seeing each other. They conversed for a second, utilized the concessions stand where students sold everything from gum to hot dogs and popcorn. Bonnie hadn't mentioned to anyone in particular that she would be attending the first exhibition game of the year. Yet she could definitely use the company.

Things in her personal life had calmed down somewhat.

Damon was still a little salty about his two-day suspension, and when he returned to work he said no more than what was necessary to her. Luckily for the both of them there was never any need for them to have daily interactions with one another. But a minute part of Bonnie had gotten used to seeing him loitering in the office, flirting with the assistants and Rebekah on occasion, but she definitely wasn't going to go out of her way to encourage him to start up his shenanigans again.

Klaus remained friendly. He hadn't pestered her on when she would visit his farm so they could go horse back riding.

Dean…a little blush tinted her cheeks as Bonnie tried to get back into the game. It was hard. Dean made Bonnie feel like she was back in high school—ironic as she spent a huge chunk of her time parading around in one. It was the thrill of catching a sighting of the person that made you forget you were attached to the earth. It was waiting for those opportunities where you could steal a few seconds with the person who made your heart pound. The more time they spent together the more Bonnie felt like she was waking up out of hibernation. They ate together at least two or three times out of the week, and so far they had been on one date where Dean took her to the demolition derby. Bonnie had never been before and felt like a fish out of water and figured she'd be bored out of her mind. Yet to her surprise she had had a thoroughly good time although she couldn't hear properly for a couple of days.

Her professional relationship with Stefan hadn't budged to which Bonnie was glad about. At the end of the day as the school emptied out and the staff burst out of the doors with the same enthusiasm as the students, Bonnie and Stefan would hang around and engage in conversation since their duties basically kept them on separate tracks for most of the day. Being in a slightly less frenetic atmosphere allowed Bonnie the opportunity to let her hair down and she did. Nevertheless she couldn't allow herself to get too comfortable or familiar with Stefan.

Throwing her attention back to the game, the Timberwolves were now trailing by a single point since Julian had tossed up the ball and made a three-point shot.

It was impossible for anyone to remain in their seats after that.

When the opposing team got the ball back, forward Josh Holland stole the ball and raced it back down the court for a layup. He made the basket, the buzzer sounded, the game was over.

People rushed the court.

Bonnie and Stefan turned to one another and gave each other double high-fives before Stefan spontaneously drew her in for a hug. That jarred Bonnie for a moment because they hadn't touched since their anniversary dinner, and she was reminded of just how solid and muscular and lean her boss was. Not only that but he smelled awesome and Bonnie allowed herself a couple of discreet sniffs before disengaging from his arms, from his warmth, and redirecting her attention to the court.

She wondered who saw that.

When she got a tap on the shoulder, turned, and ran smack dab into Rebekah's smug face, Bonnie narrowed her eyes.

"Can I help you?" Bonnie blurted out over the noise of the cheering crowd.

Mentally Rebekah was saying how much Niklaus would be displeased with Bonnie and Stefan's open affection with one another. She tried to convince him to come to the game but he declined saying he had too many papers and tests to grade. Even when she made a quip about Bonnie possibly being in attendance, Klaus had stilled but otherwise gave off no other outward sign that he might be reconsidering his options.

Some days she really wanted to smack her eldest brother upside the head. He was virtually clueless on how to court a woman properly. In the past all Niklaus ever had to do was flash those dimples and devastate women with a few kindly spoken words here, an act of chivalry there, and they would be on their backs with their legs touching the ceiling. Women like Bonnie who took life and themselves far too seriously would need more prodding, more finesse, and more patience. But from the looks of things, if this were a race and best believe it was, it would appear Stefan was in the lead.

Oh, everyone knew about Bonnie and Dean's infatuation with one another. It was cute yet at the same time a little dull. At least to outside appearances. Dean looked like the kind of bloke who would hump a woman senseless up against a wall. And he also appeared as if he got a special kind of thrill out of ripping clothes to shreds with his bare hands and teeth. They weren't sleeping with each other yet, that was easy to tell, Rebekah hypothesized. Bonnie was still a touch too uptight, and Dean, he didn't stare at any of the other men on staff as if he wanted to lob off heads for staring at Bonnie too intensely.

"Nothing," Rebekah finally replied. "I've just never knew you were this much into sports. You seem kind of like an indoor girl."

Bonnie snorted. "So do you." Someone grabbed Bonnie's hand and she noticed it was the captain of the Cheer Squad. "What's wrong?"

Melanie Harris jumped up and down like she had to use the bathroom, her curled ponytail bounced around her neck. "Cassie told me you used to be co-captain when you cheered. Can you do a cheer with us? Please, Miss Bennett! The crowd would love it!"

Bonnie stared at the girl in mortification. It was official, Cassie was out to get her, make her slip into psychosis but that would be _after _she went on a murderous rampage. And naturally when she tried to scan the crowd to find her meddling sister, being as short as she was, Bonnie couldn't see over anyone's shoulder.

To her horror several more cheerleaders began to circle and crowd her leaving her nowhere to go. They all stared at Bonnie like a science experiment gone wrong or an Alien fetus that just burst out of someone's chest.

"Please?" Melanie asked again and her face began to morph into something demonic. At least according to Bonnie's vision.

What the hey? Bonnie figured. It had been a while since she did something horribly embarrassing. And she was trying to incorporate more_ fun_ into her life.

"All right, but just this once," Bonnie said.

The cheerleaders screamed spontaneously which spooked Bonnie for a minute and the next thing she knew she was begin dragged out to the center of the court and given a pair of black, red, and white pom-poms.

Since they lined up according to height, that meant Bonnie was on the front row. The girls had a quick recon on which cheer to do and confirmed it with Bonnie to make sure she remembered it and the steps.

Someone got on the microphone and had to draw the departing crowds' attention to her public flogging.

Bonnie tried to keep her eyes fixed on the painted concrete walls of the gymnasium and not on any particular face, yet she couldn't help but see several students, parents, and a couple of faculty members pull out their smartphones to record this infamy.

If her cheeks weren't molten they would be as soon as she flubbed the first step of this cheer.

"Go Bonnie!" Stefan yelled and clapped his hands.

Bonnie glanced at him and restrained shaking her head. Instead she held her head up high and waited for the countdown to begin.

She moved with surprising ease, the words came back instantly. It was almost like riding a bike, except she remembered that everyone had to execute some kind of jump. Toe touch or a herkie? Bonnie didn't have much time to decide before it was her turn so she went with a herkie. No need to rip her pants down the middle doing a toe touch.

It shocked her a little she could get her leg to go up as high at it did. She nearly kicked herself in the temple. When her feet hit the court again after being airborne for a few seconds, the crowd exploded. Bonnie laughed maniacally for a second before resuming her cool façade.

It was over as soon as it started and she was pulled into hugs and air kisses to the cheek as she was attacked with praise.

Bonnie pulled down her blouse, fixed her hair back into place, and handed back the pom-poms. She pointed at Melanie. "That's never going to happen again so I hoped ya'll enjoyed that."

It took a while for Bonnie to make it back courtside to collect her belongings because she kept getting stopped to pose for pictures. She was now officially cool.

When she made it back to her seat, Stefan held out her purse and coat. His mouth twitched and Bonnie knew he was trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing and was failing miserably. He was also trying not to laugh.

"I did forget you were a cheerleader," Stefan broke his silence. "You're still…good," he coughed.

Didn't take a genius to figure out that wasn't what he wanted to say yet Bonnie would accept it. This was slightly awkward.

"Thanks, but I'm far from coming out of retirement."

"You blended in quite nicely with the rest of the squad."

"I'm going to take that to mean that I can pass for eighteen. If that's the case," Bonnie gave him a slightly flirtatious look, "I'll take it," she winced and rubbed her aching hamstring.

"Do you need some Ben-Gay?" Stefan's lips slipped briefly into a smile. "I can get Nurse Leman to take a look at you."

Pursing her lips, Bonnie glowered at him. "Ha-ha. Just should have stretched first."

"So no wheelchair assistance, then?" Stefan teased.

Bonnie laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Well, well, well, aren't we a woman of many talents."

Bonnie and Stefan shifted their attention to the intruder.

"Damon," Bonnie greeted him civilly enough.

Damon bowed at the hips while maintaining eye contact with her. "Good evening, Miss Bennett."

Something about it made Bonnie suspect he was mocking her, but then she had to question when did she become so self-absorbed? However, in her defense very few people would equate Damon with having manners.

Stefan rolled his eyes at Damon's extra-ness. "So glad you could bless us peasants with your presence, brother."

Damon shrugged. "You know I have to leave my privy chamber and dole out favor every once and a while to my faithful and loyal subjects," he brought his uncanny gaze back to Bonnie. "And I'm glad I came or I would have missed the show. You impressed me tonight, Bonnie."

"I guess I've done my good deed for the day. Principal Salvatore have a nice weekend. Damon." Bonnie said flatly and draped her coat over her arm and shouldered her purse.

"You're not going to Shooters?" Damon moved out of the way or otherwise Bonnie would have walked through him.

The question stopped Bonnie and she looked at him over her shoulder. The running tradition in Mystic Falls was after every basketball game the more mature crowd would head over to Shooters a bar and grill located just on the outskirts of town. Just the thought of Shooters made Bonnie's empty stomach grumble. Already she could taste their triple decker burgers laid out with sautéed onions, fresh tomatoes, Dijon sauce, lettuce, ketchup, and melted cheddar cheese.

Bonnie could go home and warm up her leftovers from last night but regular no thrills spaghetti paled in comparison to a fat juicy burger and fries.

"Breaking tradition could mean bad luck for the team. Certainly can't have that so I guess I'll see you guys there."

* * *

><p>Damon and Stefan waited at the bar for their drinks to be refilled. The crowd at Shooters shrunk the establishment in half. There were wall to wall people all eating, laughing, drinking, and dancing around trying to carve out a little fun in a small town that didn't offer much variety when it came to entertainment.<p>

Bobbing his head to the music, Damon hit Stefan's elbow with his own. "What's up with you and Bonnie?"

"Nothing," Stefan replied quickly, almost too quickly for Damon's liking.

"That's not what I saw," Damon remarked. He had arrived ten minutes into the game and spotted Stefan and Bonnie sitting next to each other. Several times Stefan had leaned over to say something to Bonnie that either had her laughing or making a weird albeit cute face. Damon couldn't say if them attending the exhibition game was planned but it certainly looked that way.

"It doesn't matter what you or anybody else saw, Damon. Bonnie and I are friends."

"Although I'm sure you'd like to be more than that," a sly look came into Damon's eye.

Stefan knew a fishing expedition when he saw one. He wondered how long it would take his brother to start giving him the third degree about the nature of his relationship with Bonnie. He above everyone else should know that getting close to Bonnie on a personal level was like trying to upload a virus at the CIA. It just wasn't going to happen.

The woman of discussion just stepped out of the bathroom and plowed her way through the crowd to make it back to their table where a few other teachers were assembled.

"If you feel that way, why do you care? What's it to you if I like Bonnie?"

Damon lifted his hands in surrender at detecting a bit of bite in Stefan's questions. It was always so easy to ruffle his feathers. It was one thing as brothers that they shared—they inevitably wore their feelings on their sleeves.

"I'm just trying to look out for your rep, little brother. The school can't really afford a scandal," Damon widened his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll believe that as soon as you do. It doesn't take a genius to see that you have a thing for Bonnie."

"I don't have a thing for Bonnie."

"Oh really? So what was up with that post you made on Facebook about being on a date with your 'dream girl'?"

"I was just merely giving a recap of my night. That doesn't exactly translate into me wanting to make off with the chick to Vegas to get hitched. Now who's the one reading too much into things?"

Stefan shook his head. He was done being bated by his brother. To his relief their drinks were placed in front of them. Stefan tossed his back. Damon followed suit.

"This conversation has been a total waste of my time," Stefan slapped his hands on the bar top. "Are you done trying to cause drama, Regina George?"

Damon chortled. He restrained Stefan when he made a move to leave the bar. "Seriously…do you like Bonnie?"

"I do," Stefan unequivocally. "Do you?"

The younger Salvatore passed his eyes over Damon as if looking for a crack, a weakness. It wasn't unusual for Damon to dance around an issue or problem that was bothering him because he liked being irritating—that was one, and he had difficulty making himself vulnerable to others. Growing up, Damon wore his cape of being the bad boy of Mystic Falls proudly, much to their parents chagrin, and Stefan inevitably fell into the role as being the good and reliable son. The doormat. The pushover. Those were the edited names that Damon had called him during their childhood.

Damon shifted a bit uncomfortably. He was an emotional being, felt things intensely. Yet when it came to discussing things that hit his heart directly that's when he clammed up. He used dry humor and sarcasm as a defense mechanism. But with Stefan he could put his guard down if only a little.

"She's okay," the dark-haired Salvatore finally confessed.

That lackluster response earned him a snort. "You're an educator, Damon, I'm sure you can be a little more descriptive than that. Does she make your heart beat faster, your palms sweat, does she make you tongue-tied and twisted whenever you get within five feet of her? Do you think about her when you should be focusing on something else? Do you stalk her movements through social media?"

Damon could say 'yes' to all of the above but he was much too cool for that. Instead he rolled his eyes and yawned.

"Don't project the inner workings of your madness onto me, little brother. My food is getting cold. Excuse me."

Damon retook his seat at the table. He was sitting nowhere near Bonnie yet he could watch her without being so obvious about it. She was currently licking salt off her fingers as she listened to Jean Hawthorne who taught Freshman English recount something amusing one of her brothers did.

Stefan joined the group not long after taking his place right next to Bonnie. Damon's eyes narrowed the second Stefan tossed his arm over the back of Bonnie's chair.

If that wasn't one of the oldest possessive moves in the book.

Bonnie frowned suddenly and then dug her cell out of her pocket. "Excuse me," she got up from the table.

Damon watched her head to the bathrooms.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Bonnie asked as soon as the line connected.

Dean coughed a few times before replying. A stomach bug had made its way to REL and took out a few students and teachers, Dean being one of the unfortunate. "I've had better days. Man, nothing sucks worse than being sick." Pause. "Are you throwing a party and didn't invite me?"

Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Bonnie smiled. "No, I'm at Shooters. The first exhibition basketball game was tonight and most people come here to get something to eat afterwards. A hotdog and popcorn can only carry you so far."

Dean laughed or at least tried to.

"I feel so bad," Bonnie pressed her back against the wall and stared up at the flickering florescent light hanging overhead. "You're sick and I'm here kicking up my heels."

"If you want to make it up to me I could use a nurse. I'll even let you wear the uniform. In fact I insist that you do. It will certainly…_lift_ my spirits."

Bonnie laughed. "Sounds tempting. I can come by tomorrow and keep you company for a few hours. But it won't be until the afternoon. Tomorrow is repaint the gym day. I forgot I signed up to volunteer weeks ago."

"Well then I'm glad I'm sick because I did, too," Dean coughed violently again.

"Dean you should get some rest. Do you need anything? I can make a pit stop by CVS before I make my way home."

"Nah, I'm good although I'm sure the mucus that's squatting in my chest would love to see you."

Bonnie grimaced. "I'll pass on the mucus. Let me wrap things up and I'll be over there."

"NO!" Dean hollered. "I'll be fine tonight. I just swallowed an entire bottle of Nyquil so I'll be out soon which I'm currently going under as we speak. Besides, not that I'm vain or anything but the crypt keeper is more GQ than I am at the moment."

"All right," Bonnie let him off the hook. "I'll text you tomorrow to make sure you're alive before I come over."

"All right, babe. Be careful. Wear your seat belt and remember to use your turn signal."

"Good night, Dean," Bonnie smiled.

Ending her call, Bonnie turned to head back to the group when she stumbled on her feet. Grabbing her pounding chest, Bonnie frowned at Damon. "Do you get off on sneaking up on people?"

His expression was unreadable but for a second Damon looked unfriendly. But then the storm on his face moved on to greener pastures and he was his easy-going self once more.

"It's my specialty," he answered.

"Do you need to use the restroom?"

"No, I actually wanted to talk to you. Alone."

"Oh. What's up?"

Now that he had the floor Damon wasn't sure what to do with it. He had overheard Bonnie making plans with Dean which naturally didn't sit well with him. If he wanted to show Bonnie that he was worth taking a chance on then he needed to speed things along. He couldn't afford to let Bonnie get too attached to the grease monkey because he sat back and thought being an eternal stud would be enough to reel her in. With Klaus and Stefan circling her, the pressure to standout was begining to build.

"So…you're…ah…going to be repainting the gym tomorrow?" Damon opened up feeling lame.

Bonnie nodded slowly. "Are you going to be there?"

"Maybe."

"Hmm. A little birdie told me you actually did something good with the two days you were suspended. You volunteered at Pembroke Elementary?"

Damon felt the tension in his shoulders relax. This was a good sign. Bonnie keeping tabs on him meant she was at least curious about him, right? Even if she didn't explicitly ask for that information to begin with, at least she remembered and was questioning him about it.

"I did," he puffed out his chest. "I entertained the kiddies with a puppet show and then later gorged myself on chocolate chip cookies and apple juice," he showed all his teeth.

As much as Bonnie tried to picture Damon stuffing his hand up a sock doll, disguising his voice, and then squeezing his frame into a little chair, it just wasn't computing. Yet it was endearing.

"I'm sad I missed it," Bonnie folded her arms under her breasts.

"You're in luck because I've been invited back to do an encore performance next Wednesday. I could use the support."

"Next Wednesday?"

Damon nodded looking the pinnacle of innocence.

"All right, I'll come," Bonnie said. If she were the one to pick who would become Mr. Mystic Falls it was time she started observing the candidates while they did their community service.

Damon beamed and then reached for Bonnie's hand. The contact caused her to jump and she wondered what he was about to do. She relaxed when Damon simply kissed her knuckles. She laughed nervously.

"Thank you, Miss Bennett," Damon's voice had taken on an undertone usually reserved for intimate settings, not a hallway leading to the bathrooms.

"Mr. Salvatore," Bonnie inclined her head and then moved beyond him to head back to their table.

* * *

><p><strong>The following day…<strong>

"I kid you not, Bonnie. If you held up a picture of E.T. with my class portrait you wouldn't be able to tell us apart," Klaus laughed self-deprecatingly and Bonnie joined. "I was dreadfully unpleasant to look at and painfully skinny. I didn't start to come into my own until I went to university."

Bonnie held her stomach as she tried to get her laughs under control but anytime she looked at Klaus between the slits in her eyes, she would start her chuckles all over again. It was impossible for her mind to see him as some awkward beanpole that would be mistaken for E.T. Bonnie was well aware that everyone went through an ugly phase at some point during their lives, yet it was hard for Bonnie to imagine Klaus looking anything less than fine.

"I'm going to need to see some proof of this, Klaus," she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Well, thankfully all the family albums are stashed back in England," he flashed his dimples.

Finally sobering Bonnie stared at him from across the small round table that only sat two. Repainting the gym nearly sapped all of Bonnie's energy, but she did want to stop at the craft store for fall decorations. While there she ran into Klaus who was picking up paint oils, brushes, and specially woven canvases. She had learned something else about him; that he wasn't just an admirer of art but was himself an artist as well.

For the last twenty minutes they merely sat, took small sips of their beverages while Klaus regaled her with horror stories—at least to him—of his childhood.

Klaus almost didn't make the trip into town. He wanted to finish up grading a few essays he hadn't been motivated all week to check, and was willing to dedicate his Saturday morning to doing just that. However, with the sky overcast and the wind blowing fallen leaves around, Klaus felt inspired to paint but needed new supplies so he sucked it up and went into town.

Sitting across from Bonnie he was so glad he got a kick in the ass from his muse.

Bonnie was dressed for the weather in a camel colored pea coat, cashmere scarf wrapped around her neck, jeans, and riding boots. Her long hair fell in waves, and she wore just enough makeup to highlight her best features. Klaus figured Bonnie would have to put in effort to look unpleasant to the eyes because no matter what she wore she simply looked flawless.

He desperately wanted to ask her to sit for him so he could paint her portrait yet he was apprehensive. And he had every reason to be.

Klaus could say he guessed Bonnie was unofficially dating the newbie—Dean. He had seen them together at school more than he cared to, and even caught them loitering around town deeply engrossed in each other. As much as he wanted to get into her personal business and interrogate her on how far she was willing to let her dalliance with the new hired help go, Klaus was pertinent enough to know it would never fly with Bonnie, and it would only stand to drive her away.

And he certainly couldn't allow that to happen. Under any circumstances.

It was funny because Damon felt he had rights to Bonnie simply because he knew her longer than him, and Klaus was sure Stefan felt the same way. He had eyes and knew that Principal Salvatore, though an honorable man was still that—a man. So it was safe to assume that amoral thoughts ran through Principal Salvatore's mind whenever he held counsel with Bonnie.

To Klaus she was almost like the piece of forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. If he partook of her he would gain knowledge that had otherwise been deemed off limits. He really couldn't see how that might be a bad thing. Yet he was thankful for this opportunity to see her with her guard down, and not be so stiff and overbearingly professional with him. Sure he was English, but that didn't mean he was proper nor showed etiquette about everything.

When the silence stretched to nearly awkward levels, Bonnie inhaled deeply. Seeing Klaus outside of school brought back memories of their carriage ride. It was a moment straight out of a Disney movie, and Bonnie, in the far recesses of her mind wished she did view Klaus as her Prince Charming, yet at the end of the day he was still her colleague, and still technically off limits.

If that were the case, Bonnie asked herself, what was she doing with Dean Winchester?

Dean was her friend. He was the only one she felt secure enough to let her hair down with, and she genuinely liked spending time with him. Even now she was resisting digging in her purse for her phone to see if he might have texted her back. They had been playing phone tag with one another all morning it seemed, sending one another suggestive messages. She needed to be making her way over to his place anyways.

Nevertheless, Bonnie was very adamant she wouldn't void the other half of her one rule about not dating her co-workers. Sleeping with them wasn't permissible either.

Kissing on the other hand…that was an amended clause.

Speaking of Klaus…

"So what made you decide to jump the pond and make America your new home?"

Bonnie's question caught Klaus off guard. His sandy blond eyebrows lifted as his blood-red lips fell into the shape of an O. No man should have lips that puffy or red, Bonnie thought almost enviously. She had to cough up half of her paycheck to MAC Cosmetics to purchase a lipstick in the color of Klaus' natural lips.

"My sister," he answered plaintively. "We've been close all our lives and when she moved to America I figured why not join her."

"And if she had never left home, would you still have moved here?"

Klaus made a restless motion with his shoulders. "I have the means to live in any country I like, but I'm glad I made the move," he stared at Bonnie pointedly.

Message received, Bonnie thought and finished the rest of her tea.

"I'm curious, though," Klaus continued. He didn't utter another word until he had Bonnie's full attention. "Why do you want to know my reason for moving here?"

"Just making conversation. Was I prying? I'm sorry," she quickly apologized.

Klaus smiled at her reassuringly flashing those deep crescent moons in his grizzled cheeks. "No need to apologize, love, it's just…you've never taken an avid interest in my life. I understand we're colleagues and have to keep certain boundaries in place, but there's nothing wrong in sharing parts of our lives with one another. I'd love to know more about you because you intrigue me."

Hmm, Bonnie thought and wished she had something to occupy her attention. She really did love Klaus' accent and could admit she went a little weak in the knees whenever he opened his mouth to speak.

"Why do I intrigue you? I'm just a paper pusher, enforcer," Bonnie laughed.

Shaking his head in the negative, Klaus slid to the edge of his seat, trapping Bonnie with those eyes. Eyes that could change color almost to reflect his mood. Right now they were aquamarine, but that might have more to do with the light of the coffee shop, yet Bonnie wasn't wiling to put all her money on that.

"You're more than that. You and I both know it. Do you want to know my first thought when I saw you?"

Nibbling a corner of her lip, it took a minute for Bonnie to nod her head.

"I thought I was waking up out of a self-imposed coma. You were just this bright presence that drew things to you and I wanted to be drawn."

Bonnie's cheeks were burning. She had to look away from the intensity in Klaus' eyes. Her first thoughts upon seeing him didn't necessarily fly in that direction. Of course she thought he was hot and when she heard his accent, she nearly creamed herself, but that was as far as Bonnie allowed herself to go in terms of thinking of her potential colleague. And the second Klaus was welcomed aboard, Bonnie shelved him with all the others in the Do-Not-Touch group.

Her hand was resting on the table and Klaus was very tempted to reach for it.

Instead he licked his lips and mustered up his courage. "Bonnie?"

"Yes?" she stared at him.

"I wonder if I may be so bold to ask to take you to dinner one evening."

"Klaus," Bonnie laughed nervously, "that's really sweet but I'm kind of involved with someone."

It took all his will power not to pucker his lips into disapproval. "Is it serious?"

Bonnie looked doubtful for a moment. She wasn't a serial dater, had always been a one-man woman, yet she and Dean hadn't made anything official between them. Still Bonnie thought it would be in poor taste on her end to date two men from her job.

"Nothing is exactly set in stone…"

"So there shouldn't be a problem with two people sitting down and sharing a meal and discussing current events or whatever. It's just dinner."

"Can I think about it? I'm all about not putting more on my plate than I can handle."

"Take all the time you need. I'm a patient man."

Bonnie figured it was time to leave before things turned real awkward. "Well patient man, I have a few errands I need to run. It was good talking to you, Klaus."

"And it's always a pleasure speaking with you, Bonnie," he reached for her hand and assisted Bonnie out of her seat. Her skin was soft, warm, and he permitted himself one secular thought on how her hand would feel wrapped around his engorged shaft, her fingers sliding over his swollen head.

Klaus felt his balls tighten in his pants. He watched as Bonnie gathered her things and then shuffle off. She looked once over her shoulder and waved, to which he returned and remembered to smile. Women were a sucker for his smile.

Despite the afternoon not ending the way he had hoped, Klaus would take their chance encounter as a step in the right direction.

Chapter end.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hopefully it won't take another six months for an update. Love you guys!**


	8. The Art of the Block

**A/N: Hello lovelies! Thank you for the reviews! I'm glad someone somewhere is still reading this. If you see any typos/errors please excuse them. I plan to re-edit this later. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW, except for Dean Winchester of course. No copyright infringement is intended.

With her toothbrush jammed between her back molars and cheek, Cassie Bennett stuffed binders and folders into her messenger bag, and paused long enough to check the time on the microwave. If she left within the next five minutes she should only be a minute or two late for homeroom. Fly away hairs were sticking out of her messy ponytail, she was only wearing foundation and nothing else, and though she hated leaving the house looking anything less than perfect, she'd have to clean herself up once she made it to school.

Her eyes widened suddenly when she saw her sister, apparently flustered and just as harried come barreling into the kitchen.

The toothbrush almost fell out of Cassie's mouth, but she reached for it and plucked it out before she made a mess on the kitchen table.

"What are you still doing here?" Cassie asked around a mouth of saliva and toothpaste bubbles.

Bonnie didn't even bother glancing up to make eye contact with her younger sister prior to answering her question. "I overslept. I never oversleep."

Cassie shook her head. Now she wasn't feeling quite so bad about herself. Swallowing the mouthful of toothpaste residue and grimaced, Cassie folded her arms over her chest with a slight smile on her face.

"So what were you doing to oversleep? You're anal about what time you're to be in bed every night, Bennett? Were you having phone sex with Mr. Winchester?"

Totally inappropriate! Bonnie's mind roared.

"I really don't have time to answer your questions." Bonnie stood up from stuffing last minute odds and ends into her satchel.

"That means yes."

Bonnie huffed, "Cassie," and then dropped it. She wouldn't engage in butting horns with her sister. "What are you still doing here?"

Cassie shrugged, whipped around on her feet to head towards the staircase. "Same as you, sis. Overslept. See you at school. Don't forget to give yourself a demerit for being late."

Bonnie dismissed Cassie's last comment with a roll of her eyes, grabbed her bag, and debated if she had just enough time to make a pot of coffee, but shook her head. She was already cutting it close as it was.

By the time she pulled into the faculty lot at REL she basically had to sprint to the front door. Ducking her head as she wove her way through the cubicles to get to her office, Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief and then hung up her coat and unceremoniously dropped her satchel and purse by the door. She crossed over to her desk, plopped down in her chair, and booted up her system.

Her moss green eyes landed wistfully on her black ceramic mug. Her blood vessels were screaming for some caffeine. Tapping her manicured fingers on her desk, Bonnie jumped up from her seat and picked up a stack of papers that were lying in her inbox and leafed through them.

"Junk, junk, junk," Bonnie grumbled and was tempted to trash all the papers, but simply sat them down neatly on her credenza.

Sitting back behind her desk, Bonnie opened up her calendar and hit the print button. She left the confines of her office to go retrieve her document.

"Wow, now those are some killer shoes."

Bonnie tucked her lips in and turned in her Jimmy Choo hunter green alligator pumps to face her boss. Color convened in her cheeks.

"Why thank you, Principal Salvatore." Bonnie looked him over and wondered if Stefan was on his way to do a photo shoot. He was rocking the _hell _out of his tailored navy blue suit and paisley tie. This man really was wasting himself being a principal when he should be featured on magazine covers.

The two of them fell into step with one another as they made their way to the printer, which really wasn't far enough away from prying eyes and nosy ears. Bonnie could see Kalley the administrative assistant craning her neck, eyes on them, as Rebekah tried to pretend she was adjusting her chair, but Bonnie knew better.

"I don't want to get into your business, but do you have a special engagement after school?" Stefan opened up his interrogation.

Bonnie nodded and laughed dryly. "Ah…well I'm doing this thing with Damon at Pembroke Elementary."

Stefan was trying to listen to her but he was too distracted by the woman next to him.

Bonnie had impeccable taste when it came to clothes and today she didn't disappoint in that regard. The black pencil skirt stopped two inches above her knees that she paired with a black and white polka dot silk blouse. It was conservative yet what gave her outfit edge were those ridiculously high green alligator stilettos and fishnet stockings.

Bonnie caught Stefan admiring her in her threads. She cleared her throat yet allowed a smile to blossom on her face which spread wider when she noticed a rosy tint coat his cheeks.

Stefan scratched the back of his neck admonishing himself not to be so damn obvious the next time he decided to check Bonnie out.

"You're usually here around six-thirty and I saw you trying to sneak your way into your office," Stefan turned the tables back on Bonnie. "I thought maybe you might be sick or something."

"No, I'm not sick. I overslept if you can believe it. I heard my alarm go off, and I remember turning it off," Bonnie hunched her shoulders. "Whatever happened after that I have no clue. Did you need me to look over something?"

Stefan shook his head. "No, not exactly. But I do need to make yourself available during your lunch break."

"Okay," Bonnie immediately agreed although on the inside she frowned. Stefan never requested her during her lunch break. "Can you drop any hints on the nature of this meeting?"

Stefan rocked on his heels. "It might have something to do with something that involves traveling, but that's all I can say right now. Can you live in suspense until then?"

"Looks like I won't have much of a choice."

"Great! Have a good day," he rubbed her arm affectionately.

Bonnie wouldn't deny the fact her stomach instantly filled with butterflies the minute Stefan touched her. His hand was warm and nearly singed her through the thin fabric of her shirt.

For a moment they merely looked at each other unwilling to break eye contact first.

"Principal Salvatore," Bonnie said shyly as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She was a little annoyed with it because she didn't have time to curl or flat iron it properly. Bonnie had every intention of pulling it up into a sophisticated bun once she got the time. Unfortunately she had two parent/teacher meetings back to back set to start at eight-thirty which was fifteen minutes away.

"Right," Stefan shook his head a bit. "You have things to do and I have a school to run, I suppose. My office at noon."

Bonnie nodded in the affirmative and watched as Stefan walked off and began speaking with other members of the staff. Collecting her printout, Bonnie started her day.

**XXX**

She would learn not to stand with her back facing her open office door. Without warning someone slapped a smart phone in her face. It only took her eyes seconds to adjust and for her brain to interpret exactly what it was she was looking at.

"Look at what I got," came the gravelly voice.

"An iPhone," Bonnie answered.

Dean maneuvered until he was facing Bonnie. His eyes made it no secret he was checking her out in her outfit. Clearly it was quite popular today. He winked and bit his bottom lip. Bonnie felt her cheeks heating and decided not to comment on what he might be thinking.

"Yeah," Dean shook his head. "I finally retired my flip phone. I'm still a long way from being completely immersed in the twenty-first century. I still have no idea what Twitter or Tumblr is."

His honesty elicited laughter from Bonnie which made his chest swell and expand. There was nothing like the sound of that woman's laughter tickling his ears.

"You'll learn soon enough. I've actually thought about launching a Twitter account just for the school so that parents can get faster updates on their kids, but…in some ways it almost feels like an invasion of privacy."

"Well, when my pop was alive he said under his roof there were no such things as doors and you can forget about locking them. If he didn't know your business then he felt he wasn't doing something right," Dean admitted.

"Your dad was from the old school. Most parents, not all I think, they're more concerned about being friends with their kids. I was pretty scared of my dad, but I respected him."

"I didn't have a choice," Dean nearly shivered. His old man might have been militant about certain things, but he was fair, and a little crazy, but in his opinion that's what made John Winchester a great dad. "So," Dean closed what little space was left between him and Bonnie. "You got plans for lunch."

"Unfortunately I do."

"Oh."

Although he tried to do a good job of disguising his disappointment, Bonnie could still detect it in his voice. "I have to meet with Principal Salvatore."

Well there was nothing Dean could do about that. He certainly couldn't tell Bonnie to blow him off. Man was responsible for signing off on her timecard.

"That's too bad," Dean traced his right eyebrow with his thumb. He checked out into the front office before taking Bonnie by the waist, pushing her backwards as he kicked her door closed with his boot.

"Dean," Bonnie stated warningly yet couldn't fight against the anticipatory rush that spiked in her bloodstream. What woman her age didn't fantasize about sneaking around with a colleague at work? Bonnie would be a liar if she said she hadn't thought about making out with Dean under the bleachers.

The man in question silenced Bonnie with the weight of his body as it pressed her against the wall. They were partially hidden by her coat rack, but not by much.

Aquamarine eyes gazed into olive. A small smirk was all the warning Bonnie got before her lips were covered with Dean's insistent ones.

Her eyes fluttered close as Bonnie pressed the palms of her hands and forearms flat against Dean's chest. He was nothing but solid muscle under his flannel button down shirt, and Bonnie allowed herself to dream about what he looked like with nothing on. The thought alone made her moan.

Dean was trying to keep arousal at bay but it was beginning to get pretty damn hard considering Bonnie was _so_ soft under his hands as he held her around the waist. His right hand got a mind of its own and began to travel farther south before curving around and grabbing her ass.

Bonnie squeaked a little but didn't cease in kissing Dean like there was no tomorrow. She would allow this to continue for the next five seconds before saying uncle.

Dean wasn't done drinking her in by a long shot. His tongue infiltrated her mouth like a spy looking for classified documents. It brushed against Bonnie's who darted hers in response. Like snakes mating, their tongues rolled and coiled over one another's.

Bonnie pulled away the minute the blood pounding in her ears began to drown out everything else.

"I swear you taste better every time I kiss you," Dean bored into Bonnie staring at her in such a way that made her toes curl in her too-tight shoes.

"So do you. You don't taste like meat and beer for once."

Dean reared his head back and laughed. He stepped away from Bonnie and ran his tongue over his lips in a poor effort to remove traces of her lipstick. He didn't really care if anyone saw him. It would be his way of staking his claim.

Dean Winchester might be accused of many things but being dumb wasn't one of them. It never escaped him that Klaus, Damon, and even on occasion Stefan would find some lame excuse to draw Bonnie into a pointless conversation. He knew it had less to do with the stupid beauty contest they had all unwittingly been voted into, and more to do with four horny men trying to pin their flag on the Isle of Bonnie.

He wasn't scared of Bonnie showing an interest in anyone else. Dean was secure enough in himself that if Bonnie suddenly wanted to call this whole thing off, he wouldn't sweat it. He might think she was making a mistake, but still she was her own woman and knew at the end of the day who and what was right for her.

In the meantime he'd simply show his interest and back off allowing Bonnie to decide the pace of this ride. He'd enjoy it because come on look at her! She was the best looking woman he ever had the pleasure to call friend, and it was a rare thing he shared with Bonnie. Friendship.

In his past, if he saw a woman who caught his attention, Dean would stroll over, swap a little conversation, and if she bit the line, she went home with him. He might call a couple of times, attempt to go out on a date, but more than likely they knew their involvement would be brief yet balls busting enjoyable.

Dean knew he couldn't treat Bonnie that way and honestly he didn't want to. She was something special and he had every intention of letting her know that without being over the top about it.

"If this is your way of flirting with me? I gotta say I like it," Dean leered.

"I just bet you do," Bonnie ran a hand through her hair before pulling down her skirt. It had ridden up a little.

"I need to get you alone."

Bonnie arched an eyebrow. She wanted to be alone with him, too. Then Bonnie remembered that Cassie was going to one of her little snooty friends' birthday party slash sleepover this Friday night. Friday was two days away, but it would come soon enough.

"This must be your lucky week, Mr. Winchester," Bonnie headed back over to her desk. "My sister won't be at home this Friday. You could stop by and we'll see what happens from there."

"Consider it written in stone. I better get my ass to class," Dean wrenched the door open but not without winking at Bonnie.

**XXXXX**

The brawl could be heard around the sterile cream halls of Robert E. Lee High school. Bone connected with cartilage. A fist and a complacent face collided together like cars skidding across an icy highway. Those watching were sure little Henry Prescott wouldn't compare his beating as something so poetic yet it came close.

"You speak to my girl again and I paint the walls with your blood, maggot!"

"All right, break it up!" several male teachers pushed their way through the gathered crowd to reach the tension-filled middle and stop the latest tickle session.

Damon Salvatore grabbed middle line backer Tripp Higgins quickly examining him and noticed three of his five knuckles were bloodied and well on their way to being swollen. He then dropped his lapis lazuli eyes to the boy cowering on the floor trying to staunch his bleeding nose. Shaking his head in disgust, Damon thrust Tripp Higgins who towered above Damon by a couple of inches, and definitely outweighed him by fifty pounds against a row of lockers.

Where Damon was lean and toned muscle, Tripp was blubber, but he had seen the senior out on the gridiron and knew he was faster and stronger than his chubby form belied.

Tripp kicked the set of lockers he had been forced into with the bottom of his size thirteen shoe before butting his head against the metal. The sound that followed made a few bystanders cringe.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Damon held the teen tightly by the shoulders.

"That faggot thought he could talk to my girl."

Damon merely blinked. All of this over the fact someone dared to acknowledge Tripp Higgins girlfriend? Not because…well there was never a good reason to fight someone unless they disrespected you or someone you loved, and that disrespect had to be more than an imagined slight.

"Really?" Damon deadpanned. "Get your ass to the principal's office, Tripp."

The enraged teen glared at Damon before shouldering past him. The crowd quickly stepped out of the way or they would have been knocked over regardless.

One of the other teachers had helped Henry Prescott to his feet and whisked him off to the infirmary.

Damon looked at the lingering students who were hoping for either an encore performance or, Damon to take off his shirt he really didn't know and he didn't care. He waved his arm in the air as if swatting at an annoying bug.

"What are you waiting for? Jesus? Get to class," he barked.

Some students shuffled off hunching their shoulders, their morning entertainment ending abruptly and ruined by those pesky adults. Those who dared to defy his edict got themselves "the look" where Damon's face took on a more homicidal veneer, and quickly scampered off.

Klaus sauntered down the hall with his hands behind his back. He smiled cheerily at Damon. "Never a dull moment is there, mate?"

Smoothing a hand down his black button down, Damon frowned a bit. No that little shit didn't get blood on his John Vartos. Now his day was ruined.

"No," Damon grimaced and then hunched his shoulder, his bad mood dissolving like antacid tablets in water. "I see you're about ten seconds too late in breaking up the latest scuffle. Honestly, Klaus what are you good for?" the dark-haired Salvatore ribbed.

"Lots of things," Klaus replied. "I should start with the fact that half of our female constituents find me fascinating and mysterious, and I give them plenty to talk about. Yet there is only one goddess among those mortals whom I find myself inexplicably drawn to."

Damon didn't even bother falling into this game with Klaus.

"Yeah, well good luck trying to woo Venus. I heard she's a vain one. I gotta book it to my brother's office, and give my account of what happened."

Klaus slapped a hand on Damon's shoulder nearly knocking him over in the process. "Give my regards to Principal Salvatore. Oh, and if you should run into Miss Bennett will you tell her I haven't forgotten about Saturday."

As ready as Damon was to blow Klaus off he couldn't help but find himself stuck as he faced the Englishman. His eyes crinkled around the edges while his mind tried to compute just what the hell Klaus was alluding to. Was this Klaus' underhanded yet sneaky way of throwing it in his face that he had a date with Bonnie?

Klaus loved being ambiguous on purpose because hell it was bloody fun. He knew he was referring to his weekend run-in with Bonnie at the craft store, but he phrased his statement in such a way to suggest that he had plans with Bonnie for this upcoming Saturday. Unfortunately he didn't but that didn't mean Damon needed to know.

Damon shrugged Klaus' hand off his shoulder. "Last I checked I didn't sprout wings and a beak. I'm not a messenger pigeon so please relay that little message yourself to _Miss Bennett_."

"Jealousy becomes you, Damon. Have I told you that? I especially love the way your cheeks color over like they are right now," Klaus laughed as he walked backwards down the hall with a much lighter step.

"Caw caw motherfucker," Damon muttered under his breath as he made his way to the front office. When he got there he wasn't terribly to find Dean holding court with Rebekah. He wondered what he was doing here, but didn't really care all that much.

Damon made his way to Stefan's office where he threw open the door and strolled in like a rock star.

His mood improved by leaps and bounds when he saw Bonnie was in attendance. She was standing next to Stefan's chair which irritated Damon for obvious reasons.

Briefly Bonnie looked up to acknowledge him but she didn't smile and there definitely wasn't a twinkle in her eye.

"Damon, thanks for joining us," Stefan said before bringing his attention back to the disgruntled teenager who sat slumped in the chair across from the principal's desk. "You know we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence, Tripp and this is your second fight this year. You're facing suspension. What do you have to say for yourself?" Stefan questioned.

Taking a stance against the adjacent wall, Damon folded his arms over his chest and kept his gaze locked on the defiant boy who clearly wasn't listening to a single thing coming out of Stefan's mouth.

Not like he blamed him. Damon couldn't count the number of times he blocked the sound of his brother's dull voice from his mind.

Stefan and Bonnie exchanged glances stating wordlessly what needed to take place next since Tripp was clearly pleading the fifth.

"Have you checked on Henry Prescott?"

Damon looked across to Bonnie who was staring at him. He shook his head in the negative. He wanted to know if she went out with Klaus. That's all he really cared about right now.

"Your mom is on her way. When she gets here we'll pick up this conversation, Tripp," Stefan said. "Until then wait out in the lobby."

"Whatever."

"Get out you ungrateful dummy," Damon retorted.

Tripp pushed himself up from the seat and made tracks to the door.

Bonnie breathed out a sigh and scrubbed a hand across her forehead. She sure did look pretty, Damon thought and then had to shake his head when he realized she was actually talking to him.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked what exactly did you see?" Bonnie reiterated her question.

"By the time I got there, Tripp had already done a thorough job of rearranging Henry's face. I separated them and asked Tripp what was going on. The jock said he slugged Henry because he talked to his girl."

"That's it?" Bonnie was amazed by the reasons stupid kids came up with for duking it out.

"Yep," Damon plopped the p.

Stefan flipped his pen on his desk. "Unbelievable." Arching back in his seat he stared up at Bonnie. "Looks like I'm going to have to bail on you for lunch."

"Not a problem," Bonnie responded. "I'll get started on the suspension paperwork."

"Nah, let Kalley handle it."

While they were talking Damon tightened his grip on his forearms. Since when did Bonnie and Stefan lunch together? Since when had Bonnie made herself available to every guy here with a penis except for him? If things were balanced on a scale it clearly wasn't leaning anyway in his favor.

Bonnie nodded her head and then rounded Stefan's desk and headed for the exit. Damon took that as his cue to pursue, but Stefan had gotten out of his chair.

"Damon I need you to stick around for a minute."

Cursing, Damon pivoted to face his brother and could have sworn he saw that idiot smile. "What do you want?"

"You know I need you to write out your statement on what you witnessed for Tripp's official file."

Inwardly Damon groaned and cast his eyes on Bonnie reminding himself that she could run but she couldn't escape him forever. Besides she would be his tonight, so he'd have to bide his time until then.

**XXX**

After doing her rounds, Bonnie took her shoes off and wiggled her toes against the carpet. It was the end of the day and she couldn't have been happier about that.

Rubbing her sore neck, Bonnie sat down in her seat and wasn't alone for two seconds before she became aware that Klaus was hovering in the doorway. She slapped a smile on her face that she was pretty sure didn't actually reach her eyes. She was bone tired and had to stifle a yawn. And her day was far from over.

Bonnie had promised Damon that she would come to his puppet show at Pembroke Elementary, and she was a woman who kept her promises; although her eyes were feeling like they were being scrubbed clean with sand paper right now.

"Hey, Klaus," Bonnie tried to sound upbeat and cheery.

"You look exhausted, love," Klaus observed and cleared the threshold. He made himself right at home in one of the chairs positioned across from her desk.

Bonnie nodded not even trying to hide it anymore. "I am. I had a late night getting caught up on some proposals and overslept. The day is finally catching up with me," she slid to the back of her seat barely resisting the temptation to close her eyes. "Did you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to check and see how you were doing." Pause. "I feel rather silly actually."

"Why?"

"Have you ever heard of the Nemeth Foundation?"

Bonnie nodded her head. The Nemeth Foundation was something like Mystic Falls' version of the Smithsonian. It was a large museum that housed artifacts and artwork dating all the way back to the second century. It definitely wasn't free to get in, and from time to time the Nemeth Foundation hosted benefits and fundraisers where you definitely needed the right bank account to attend.

"Well I've just been informed that they want to feature one of my original oils. Someone must have tipped them off about my…family connections because otherwise why would such a prestigious institute want to showcase the work of a lowly high school teacher."

Bonnie pursed her lips. "You're not lowly, Klaus, but that's really amazing! Congratulations," she gushed yet wondered what was he really trying to get at without being so obvious about it?

Klaus nodded his head humbly yet he was snickering a little on the inside. "I know this might put you in a terrible imposition, and if it's not too much I was wondering if you'd accompany…"

"Ready to rock and roll," Damon interrupted what sounded like to him a date in the making.

Thankful for the reprieve, Bonnie immediately slipped her shoes back on and rose from her seat. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Ah, Bonnie," Klaus clamored to retrieve the moment.

"I'm sorry, Klaus," Bonnie closed down her system and clicked off her desk lamp. "We can pick this up later. Damon and I…we have an engagement."

Klaus reluctantly got to his feet and watched as Damon helped Bonnie with her coat and picked up her purse and satchel.

"Surely you have a moment?"

"We're running on a tight schedule, buddy. If we're late we stand the possibility of having tomatoes thrown at us," Damon announced dramatically.

"Is the crowd really that tough?" Bonnie played along.

"They're little animals and ankle biters. We better hurry."

"Bonnie," Klaus attempted once more.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Klaus and again congratulations."

Bonnie left the room as Damon hung back, made eye contact at Klaus before winking and smirking. "Don't forget to lock up," he told the Englishman before vacating the premises.

Foiled yet again, Klaus seethed.

**XXXX**

What tiredness plagued Bonnie's body immediately vanished as soon as she entered the auditorium slash cafeteria of Pembroke Elementary. The children went wild the minute their little big eyes landed on Damon who naturally entered with a lot of flair.

He was dressed like the Phantom from _Phantom of the Opera_ although his costume consisted of nothing more than a black cloak thrown over his customary all black ensemble, the notorious white half mask, with white gloves finishing his look. Bonnie had to admit he definitely made a fine ass Phantom.

Several girls stared at Damon with dream and wonder beaming from their eyes. Clearly they were in love. Bonnie could do nothing but sit back, laugh, and enjoy the show.

Tonight Damon had performed Hansel and Gretel and even coaxed Bonnie on stage for a quick impromptu story in which she ad libbed horribly, but the children loved it.

Now she waited for Damon to finish receiving his praise and accolades from the teachers of Pembroke who was certainly eating up his presence. Rolling her eyes, Bonnie couldn't help but admit that she liked seeing this side to Damon. He certainly never came off as the type who liked or could stand kids, but from watching his interaction with the up and coming generation it definitely warmed her heart, and made her question what did she really know about him.

She didn't have much time to question it since Damon had torn himself away from his fangirl club, and was approaching her.

Bonnie held out his leather jacket.

"Sorry that took so long. I usually carry a stick with me. It makes it easier to beat off the advances of the much older girls," he turned to wiggle his fingers in a wave at the small retinue of female teachers who were no doubt gossiping and giggling about Damon.

"You really surprised me tonight, Damon."

And hearing that from Bonnie certainly surprised him. Damon slipped his jacket on. He didn't even try to hide his smirk.

"I'm hoping that's a good thing."

Bonnie nodded. "It is. You have a way with children that's…it's really special to see. I didn't think you'd be that good with them."

"Children," Damon shrugged. "They're cool people when they behave themselves. And you should know there's a way to remedy all of that, Bonnie. People only really get to know one another when they hang out on a pretty consistent basis."

"That's true so what are you suggesting?"

"What I'm suggesting is that we hang out on a pretty consistent basis. I'm not _nearly _as revolting as you think I am."

"I don't believe revolting is one of the words I've ever used to describe you, Damon."

The two of them headed out to the parking lot. They drove separately since Bonnie had every intention of going home, hitting the sack, and falling right to sleep.

"So what are some of the words you've used to describe me? No, wait, don't tell me. Ravishing? Charismatic? Eternal stud?" he wiggled his eyebrows.

"None of the above. You have personality I'll give you that much," Bonnie retorted dryly.

"I'll take that over boring any day."

They had arrived at her car. Bonnie leaned against it as she looked up at Damon. He was right. He wasn't boring. Not by a long shot. Damon simply had too much life and energy that he immediately captured your attention, held it, and refused to let it go even when you were clearly ready to move on. Some days she wondered why he tried so hard to get her attention. Bonnie wouldn't exactly label herself docile, but…guys like Damon usually went for girls like her best friend Caroline. Someone who was bubbly, upbeat, and had an endless supply of energy. Was the life of the party basically.

Bonnie? She could be found nursing the same drink all night while holding up a wall. She frowned. Damn, she never really noticed what a true stick in the mud she could be sometimes.

Damon saw frown lines appear in the middle of Bonnie's forehead. "You still here with me, Bennett?"

Bonnie snapped out of her reverie. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had fun tonight, Damon. Do you have any more shows lined up?"

The elder Salvatore stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against his Audi. "I might come back in the spring. I haven't really given it much thought." Pause. "So…earlier was Klaus trying to ask you out on a date or something?" he snorted.

Shifting on her feet, Bonnie really didn't want to get into a conversation about that. "It doesn't matter. I'm sure I would have been busy."

"Hmm. The first dance of the year is coming up," Damon remarked with the same joy as listening to a weather report.

"Let me take a gander at the number of girls that are hoping you might forget you're their teacher and you'll break down and take them for a spin around the gym? The entire freshman class."

Damon smirked. "There's only one girl that I want to get my grind on with."

"I'm sure," Bonnie said and fidgeted under the weight of his direct gaze. Damon had eyes that were hooks. They penetrated and ripped into things mainly a woman's sensibilities. She yawned and then stared at him apologetically.

It didn't take a genius to figure out Bonnie was having a senior moment and she needed to get home.

"You seem pretty tired so I should let you go and head home," Damon reached forward and pulled open Bonnie's car door.

"Okay, well I'll see you at work."

"Yea!"

Bonnie laughed and shook her head. "Drive safely."

"You, too."

Right when she was about to slip behind the wheel Damon's hand on her arm detained her. Bonnie looked at Damon questioningly, and felt her alarm spike as he cleared the distance separating them.

If you risked nothing you gained nothing. That had been the rule Giuseppe Salvatore taught his sons and one Damon lived by. He couldn't wait this out any longer, and Bonnie may attempt to slap him into the middle of next week, but it would be worth it.

Bonnie turned her head because she couldn't just let Damon kiss her especially when her lips fooled around with Dean's earlier today.

But her lips hadn't been his exact goal. At least not tonight. He kissed her cheek.

Relief exploded through Bonnie yet un-fulfillment lanced through her. She shifted when Damon began to pull away but she miscalculated and her upper lip grazed his bottom one.

She swallowed her gasp and leaned back to stare up into those eyes again that had darkened considerably.

The two educators found themselves suspended for a moment.

"I want you…" Damon began and Bonnie felt her heart beat torpedo…

Chapter end.

**A/N: My goal is to have Bonnie interact with all of the guys in every chapter, but in some scenarios that just won't be possible. I have my faves naturally, but I want this to be as fair as possible. But I think Bonnie may be in the need of a little estrogen next chapter, so we'll see how this all plays out. Thank you again, guys for reading and reviewing. Until next time, love you! **


	9. Taste

**A/N: It's been a while. I hope you guys are still interested in this. But this chapter is for redrooftop and Love'Joy1990. Enjoy ladies! I've only edited this once so please excuse any grammar errors or lack of continuity. Will clean it up later. Thanks!**

Disclaimer: These characters (aside from my OC's) are the creative property of LJ Smith/CW. Copyright infringement is not intended.

* * *

><p>The temperature plummeted while her core body heat skyrocketed. Hearing someone say they wanted her shouldn't be affecting her like this. Like she couldn't form a coherent thought let alone speak. What shocked her even more weren't the words themselves, but the <em>person<em> who spoke them.

Her breath hitched and she went absolutely still. Bonnie wasn't blind. She knew Damon was handsome and he had put out more than enough signals he was interested in being more than colleagues with her. Tonight she had seen another side to his persona, his alter ego and she could privately admit she found it…cute. Sexy. It took a lot of guts to commit to fully making a fool of oneself for children's amusement. It erased one of the stereotypes about him from her mind.

But that was it right? I _only _admire his selflessness when it comes to children. I'm not actually attracted to him, she thought.

"I want you,"—Bonnie's heart bounced uncontrollably in her chest—"to get off my foot!" Damon exclaimed.

The wind beneath her sails deflated.

Realizing both feet weren't planted firmly on the ground, and that yes indeed the heel of her right stiletto was buried deep in Damon's left boot, Bonnie quickly removed her foot.

She tried not to laugh but witnessing Damon biting into his bottom lip to stop himself from crying out in agony made her giggle nonetheless.

He glared at her before puffing out his chest as he straightened his spine.

"Sorry," Bonnie hiccupped, "Are you okay? I couldn't have hurt you that badly."

"Oh yeah? Then let me step on your foot and see if you'll have the same opinion."

"I said sorry, dude. I have aspirin if you need it."

Damon grimaced, "No thanks."

Well, that was an ice breaker for him. Naturally this spurned Damon on to use this to his advantage.

"For assaulting me I think that entitles me to a hug or a kiss on the cheek, at least as reparations for my pain and suffering," the elder Salvatore batted his eyes coquettishly.

Bonnie folded her arms over her chest, lips pursed. "Maybe you have a blood clot that's traveling to your head if you think that's going to fly. I'm on to you," she pointed a finger in his direction.

Damon snorted yet remained mute allowing his eyes to do all the talking for him. He watched as the tense muscles in Bonnie's face became lax and her lips split apart to where he saw her pearly whites twinkling in the moonlight. They were the only two people loitering around the parking lot. The only two people in the universe it felt like to Damon. There were no sounds of traffic, wind, laughter, voices. It was just them. Exactly the way he preferred it.

Bonnie swallowed. She was no stranger to being under Damon's notorious smoldering gaze, but never to this level of intensity before. She shifted unconsciously away from him desperate to reestablish some boundaries that blurred at some point during the night.

Her gaze of its own volition dropped to his mouth and saw just the tip of his tongue moisten the crease before disappearing. Bonnie was good at avoiding things, even simple truths and the simple truth in this case was: she had thought about kissing Damon.

Her thoughts didn't just end with kissing. She had imagined being spread out on a bed, Damon hovering over her—shirtless wearing that crooked smile before dipping his head to kiss, suck, and lick her belly while her fingers got busy in further messing up his constantly tousled hair.

She shook those thoughts loose. Dean! Her conscience roared. Remember him? _Yeah and?_ Bonnie's flesh replied. _It's not like we're married or even exclusively dating._ But you like him. _So? You can like more than one person at a time. There's no rule against that._ Yeah sure, greedy but what about your rules? _Dammit!_

"Well?" Damon ruptured the prolonging silence.

He could see different scenarios going through Bonnie's head. Hopefully one of them involved his lips becoming _very _familiar with her anatomy.

Caroline would have grabbed the bull or in this case Damon by the horns or the lapels of his jacket and smooched him. Elena would have settled with a one-two combination of hug and simultaneous kiss on the cheek. But what would Bonnie Bennett do?

"You could have cooties," Bonnie remarked.

"I could," Damon hedged. "But I'm willing to risk spreading mono if you are."

"I'll pass," Bonnie closed the gap between them, rose to her toes, and kissed Damon right between the eyebrows. "Good night," she said, quickly got into her car and drove away.

Damon sighed. That hadn't been what the hell he wanted, but it was far more than he ever expected from Bonnie.

* * *

><p>Any last hope for a warm day disappeared once November rolled around the corner. A beautiful sunny day was a rare occurrence. Constant gunmetal gray skies were the norm as well as bare trees and browning grass. Smoke from chimneys created a blanketing haze over the small tight-knit community otherwise known as Mystic Falls. But the scent of embers, fallen leaves, and dew was a pleasant fragrance to Bonnie's olfactory senses.<p>

She needed the familiar to get rid of the unfamiliar. A tightening in her chest started after returning home from her outing with Damon and lasted all weekend. Bonnie had gone to bed with a certain level of expectancy in not being as closed off as she's made herself out to be. However, that newfound explosion of candidness dwindled when she realized today's date.

Dressing for work damn near robotically, Bonnie swept into the kitchen where she saw Cassie about to pour juice into her bowl of cereal.

"Cas?"

The girl jumped and then cursed once the first splash of juice mixed in with her Fruity Pebbles. "Today is not my day."

Cassie picked up her bowl, headed over to the sink where she proceeded to dump her ruined breakfast down the garbage disposal.

She flipped the switch to start the disposal at the same time the landline phone began ringing.

Bonnie answered, "Hello?"

"Bonnie? Hey, it's Mom."

Green eyes widened out of pure shock. Bonnie pivoted like a wooden toy to stare at Cassie who wasn't paying her the slightest bit of attention.

"Hey mom," Bonnie spoke slowly into the phone.

Cassie's head jerked up and her brow furrowed. She mouthed, "The hell she calling for?"

Bonnie shrugged. This was her first time speaking to her mother, the enigmatic Abby Bennett-Morgan in…five months. When it came to having a traditional mother-daughter relationship Bonnie wouldn't say the two of them shared that. They had never been particularly close, and after her mom filed for divorce and joint custody of Bonnie and her sister, their fragile relationship became strained and paper thin.

After her father's passing, Bonnie didn't expect their dynamic to change. Abby would call when she remembered she had two children out there in the world. Bonnie and Cassie certainly never went out of their way to remain in touch with Abby given she never stayed in one place long enough to be reached.

There was no need to address the pink elephant in the room. Bonnie knew why her mother called. Today of all days and…she wasn't exactly in the best of moods to hear what she had to say, but would hear her out nonetheless.

"I'm sure you're busy getting ready for work but…" Abby sighed tiredly, "I just wanted to check on you and Cassie…see how the two of you have been doing."

"Where are you mom?" Bonnie cut through the pleasantries and got down to the logistics.

"Aspen. Michael is meeting with prospective investors about building a ski resort that will cater to a more diverse clientele. I wish you girls could be here to see this place."

"Un-hun," Bonnie muttered disinterestedly. She had only met her stepfather a handful of times and the last time she saw him was on his wedding day.

"So how are you girls?"

"We're fine, mom. Thanks for calling."

"Bonnie," Abby rushed. "Look, I know I haven't been keeping in touch or reaching out to you and Cassie like I should. I…I think about you girls everyday, but I want you to know that I do miss your father."

"Yeah, look mom it's good to hear from you but I really need to get going. I have work soon…" Bonnie trailed off hoping Abby would catch the hint.

"I…understand," she said sadly. "I'll call you in a few days. I love you. Tell Cassie I miss her and love her, too."

Bonnie hung up without reciprocating her mom's sentiment or saying she'd relay her message to Cassie. But Bonnie wouldn't have wasted her breath either way. Cassie liked to say she didn't have a mother.

"What did that woman want?" Cassie scooped cereal into her mouth after making herself a fresh bowl.

"To let us know that she misses us…dad…loves us…is having fun being a trophy wife," Bonnie shrugged. "The usual."

Cassie rolled her hazel eyes and then took her bowl of cereal up to her bedroom to finish getting ready for school.

Bonnie went through her usual routine, but before she walked out the door, she trotted over to the fireplace mantle and stared at the large portrait of her dad.

"Miss you, daddy," she whispered.

Cassie flew down the stairs and stopped when she saw Bonnie staring up at their father's picture. It had taken Cassie months before she could look at her father's image for a solid five seconds without bursting into tears. Now when she gazed at Edric Christopher Bennett she did so with pride and not overwhelming sadness and anger.

She didn't say anything. Watched as Bonnie lit a candle, a new ritual they decided to do to honor their father's memory. They may not have gotten along seventy percent of the time, the ten year age gap between them making them more like mother and daughter than sisters, Cassie could say at that moment she was lucky to have an older sister like Bonnie. Even if she were boring and sometimes a bitch. Yet she would pick living with Bonnie over living with her mom any day of the week. At least Bonnie showed an interest in her life even if that interest bordered on telling her how to live it.

Bonnie turned from the fireplace to collect her things that had been waiting on an overstuffed chair. She caught Cassie hovering but didn't speak the obvious.

"Need a ride?" the older Bennett sister offered.

At first Cassie's face almost contorted into horror at the idea of being seen on campus with her sister, but then she bit into her upper lip and nodded.

For today she could put social protocol to rest that it wasn't cool to fraternize with authority figures, and ride shotgun with her sister.

* * *

><p>Stefan could tell something was weighing her down the minute she entered the front office. Bonnie always walked with her head up, shoulders back, impassive mask on. Today he could see a storm brewing in her viridian orbs, horizontal lines decorated her forehead and her lips were downturned at the corners.<p>

He didn't approach her until everyone had gone home for the day. Lightly knocking on her door, Stefan waited for the okay to step inside Bonnie's office.

"Come in," she said giving him the signal.

Stefan closed the door after his entry and tucked his hands inside his pockets. Bonnie was scratching out something she wrote on a memo pad, but then ripped the sheet of paper off the pad and balled it up.

"Are you okay, Bonnie?"

"I'm fine, Principal Salvatore," she replied officiously.

Stefan snorted. If she was trying to convince him she needed to work on her delivery.

His dress shoes crossed soundlessly over the carpet. Stefan took a seat on the edge of Bonnie's desk. She tried to prolong having to actually look up and make eye contact for as long as she could. Gave up after a few tense seconds passed.

Bonnie tossed her pen on her credenza. "Today isn't a good day." Pause. "It's my dad's birthday. He would have been fifty-four. I just…remember being numb this time of year. Now it's just hit me all at once."

"Hey, if you need to take a personal day, I'll understand. No need in going through the motions when your head and heart are someplace else."

Bonnie shook her head. "No, I need to work. I'm going to have to get used to the fact he's not here anymore. What better practice than to carry on as business as usual. Thank you, though."

Stefan nodded. For two seconds he hesitated but then, laid his hand on top of Bonnie's.

The contact had been gentle but sparked a reaction.

Thoughts of her father receded but were still a physical presence in her mind and definitely in her heart. But…her melancholy was being overridden by a man with aristocratic features, puppy dog bluish-gray irises, and a candor that she could never hide from.

Stefan tightened his hold on Bonnie's hand and then he was pulling her from her chair and maneuvering to where she stood between his legs. There was still plenty of space between them; however, from the back they appeared much closer than they truly were.

Bonnie's heart picked up in speed. "Principal…"

"Shush…c'mere."

Bonnie gulped a dry lump of nothing down her throat. Inwardly she was shaking her head left from right but her feet…her traitorous feet were moving her closer to Stefan.

One arm slithered around her—about mid-back while the other wrapped around her waist. She was pulled flushed against a solid wall of male muscle cloaked in wintry scented cologne.

Bonnie couldn't feel her arms. It was like every single drop of blood had been drained out of them and they dangled like wet noodles.

They were alone. The rest of the staff had wasted not a second vacating the premises while small slivers of sunlight were still present. Logically Bonnie knew that but couldn't escape feeling their interlude might be interrupted and thus misinterpreted. But she didn't care.

Missing her father reopened old wounds she thought had long since healed. Hearing her mom's voice had not done much to mend her attitude, and all day Bonnie had resisted the very real urge to scream at the top of her lungs. She didn't want to hear shit from hard-headed students who thought they were too privileged to follow simple rules and show common courtesy. She didn't want to write up petty arguments between teachers.

She just wanted this. Someone to hold her but not make false promises it would be okay.

Slowly, Bonnie wrapped her arms around Stefan's shoulders. He rose to his feet and then there wasn't any space between their bodies. They stood chest-to-chest, hip-to-hip, thigh-to-thigh.

A tear dropped from the corner of her eye. Bonnie laid her dry cheek on Stefan's chest not wanting to wet his shirt.

He buried one hand in her hair, cupping the back of her neck. "Bonnie?"

"Yeah…" she craned her neck to stare up at her boss.

Only he wasn't peering down at her like a boss should do to an employee. He wasn't Principal Stefan Salvatore anymore, but merely Stefan the red-blooded man.

Bonnie's mouth opened and she had every intention of stepping back, but then, Stefan's head was lowering and she simply froze out of shock.

"Stefan," Bonnie breathed right as his lips hovered perilously close to hers, "what are you doing?"

That halted him dead in his tracks. Stefan immediately dropped his arms and took two steps to the right putting plenty of space between him and Bonnie.

His cheeks were flaming red. "I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I shouldn't…I wasn't trying, I mean, I…um. I should go. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Bonnie. I wasn't thinking."

Bonnie's shoulders shook and she pinched her lips but it didn't work. She giggled but cut off the sound only for her to start up again. She busted out into laughter and fell back into her chair, holding her belly.

Stefan frowned not sure what the hell she found so funny, but he guess he should take it as a good sign—her laughter and not her shouting sexual harassment at the top of her lungs. He rubbed the back of his neck almost scrubbing the skin off. Stefan had never felt more embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie chortled and tried to shut the hell up. "I don't mean to laugh and I'm not laughing at _you. _Just…a lot of people want to kiss me and I've never been in this situation before," she cackled.

A new wave of heat dashed Stefan right in the face. How many people wanted to kiss her? He knew his brother was one suspect, Dean another, and possibly Klaus, but who else?

Not like it was any of his business. But still.

Bonnie swiped a Kleenex and dabbed her eyes. She rounded up her materials and stuffed things where they belonged. She was done for the day.

When she looked up at Stefan and saw the ashen look of fear marring his features the rest of her lingering giggles died a horrible death. "I'm not going to report you or anything like that. If things were different," she shrugged, "I wouldn't have stopped you. I wouldn't stop anyone I was attracted to from kissing me because…I need it."

Stefan sucked in a sharp breath. She had felt _too _good in his arms like she belonged there. If there was any chance he might salvage things, he'd take it. "Bonnie…"

"No," Bonnie held up a hand, and spoke quietly but resolutely. "I have to put my personal feelings, yearnings, wants aside and do my job. My job is to make sure this school doesn't fall apart, and it also means not letting my boss cross any lines," or get into a fist fight with his brother, Bonnie diplomatically left out. "Not only that, if I'm going to decide who becomes Mr. Mystic Falls then I need to do so objectively."

"Me wanting to taste your lips has nothing to do with a stupid popularity contest. Bonnie," Stefan obstructed her path, "I know it's not right but I can't help what I feel for you."

Bonnie averted her gaze, ignored the goose bumps rippling over her skin after hearing Stefan proclaim he wanted to taste her lips or that he had feelings for her. She ground her heels into the carpet.

"What you feel for me has to be placed aside. Indefinitely," she finally looked at Stefan. He was furious. Bonnie swallowed audibly, "Good night, Principal Salvatore."

* * *

><p>Klaus was in a downright filthy, nasty, dirty, pisser of a mood. Everywhere he turned, everything he heard was another irritant added to a hilariously long list of irritations that continued to mount. Despite the rigorous yoga and mediation sessions he allowed Rebekah to talk him into doing, nothing was taking the edge off. No specific amount of downward facing dogs was going to improve his lease in life.<p>

The only thing he stubbornly thought would help ease some of his mental discomfort was spending an evening alone with Bonnie. She had been avoiding him ever since he asked her to be his date for the art showing in which his original work would be displayed.

His hooded eyes shrank in diameter and his lips shriveled whenever he thought of her rebuff, and how quickly she fled out of her office with that gotdamn smug bastard Salvatore. The blue-eyed one.

And Klaus' mood wasn't helped or improved whenever he would happen upon the poppycock in the teacher's lounge, The Pit, or just wondering around campus. Damon usually wore a smug veneer, but ever since last Friday he looked serene and far too pleased with himself as if he invented a way not to make his shit stink.

Fighting against his own curiosity to find out the source of Damon's blissful countenance had been hard for Klaus. As much as he wanted insider info he could just as well do without it. Sparing his ears from hearing either the truth or embellishments on whatever the hell transpired between him and the lone administrator.

Did Klaus think they were fucking? No. He was assured of that because, though Damon seemed to be walking on air, Bonnie still carried on as usual. Though…there was _something _different about her. Something he couldn't exactly put a finger on.

Plus, Bonnie was a stickler for decorum and protocol. She may fancy that auto mechanic hobo of a teacher, and smiled at Principal Salvatore with fondness, and rolled her pretty eyes playfully at beauty queen Damon, she wouldn't allow herself to cross any arbitrary lines.

At least that's the vibe she had been putting out for the years he taught at Robert E. Lee.

Now he stood stoic, arms folded holding up a wall in the faculty lounge where the masses had gathered for the annual blindfold food tasting contest. It was a way to kick off the upcoming holiday season.

Klaus never participated. Never cooked a dish, baked a cake, or even bought a pie from the store to pass off as his own creation. He had carefully watched his fellow colleagues and questioned the hygiene practices of over half of them. The last thing he was willing to do for morale was jeopardize his digestive system just to come off as being a team player. Hell no to that.

This year would be different, as promised by the Intro to Art teacher Lauren Evans. The top five competitors in the Mr. Mystic Falls pageant would be the food tasting guinea pigs.

Klaus really hoped with the preliminary scoring he wasn't in the top five, but instinct told him he wouldn't be so lucky.

Bonnie had slipped into the room at some point during his musings. Klaus watched her without being so obvious about it. On the sly he admired Bonnie in her white button down shirt. Sleeves rolled to the elbow tucked into a gold pencil skirt; her feet housed in a pair of metallic pink steel-toe pumps.

As was becoming a common nuisance, she planted herself next to Dean who didn't hold back in his glee. He slung a heavy arm over her shoulder. Klaus frowned. He didn't have to be so overt, the Englishman sniffed and redirected his gaze elsewhere.

Stefan entered the lounge and clapped his hands together once drawing everyone's attention and quieting the buzz in the room. He ordered himself not to look for Bonnie. Things between them had been…cool and distant which was to be expected, but it was slowly driving Stefan up a wall.

"Welcome to our eighth annual REL Blindfold Food Tasting challenge!"—cheers, whistles, and claps went up in the air—"Now I know we're all excited to get things underway but first we need our sacrificial lambs, I mean our food tasters. Miss Imogene do you have the names of the chosen?"

"I sure do, Principal Salvatore," a heavy-set Asian woman stepped next to Stefan, and adjusted her black frame glasses on her nose. She held several index cards in her hands.

Klaus could feel himself aging. Miss Imogene wasn't known for being short-winded.

Damon had popped into the room walking through the multitude unseen for the most part. In the canvas bag he carried were two bottles of wine. Completely illegal on school grounds, but the rugrats were home now or at the very least making their way home. Additionally, they would need something to rinse the horrid taste of under or overcook food out of their mouths.

Did it enter his thoughts he had been suspended for two days for showing up to work hung over? Of course. But what was Bonnie going to do if they all tossed back some liquor? She couldn't suspend the entire teaching and auxiliary staff, right? Well, she might try knowing her, but she would be outnumbered.

Bonnie spotted Damon. This past week she thought she might have to dig deep in her stealth reserves to avoid any awkward run-ins. Much to her shock Damon had made himself pretty scarce. He hadn't made a single unplanned yet planned appearance in the front office. Didn't try to get her alone. Had actually ignored her during the entirety of the staff meeting held on Monday.

She should have been relieved yet some vague part of her was a little…disappointed. She wiggled in her too tight shoes and glanced up at Dean who had yet to remove his arm from around her shoulder.

If there had been any question about their relationship status—are they or aren't they, he pretty much put those allegations to rest with his rather possessive display. Other than a few furtive side-eyes thrown their way, no one was openly gawking at the two of them.

Teachers had dated before. It was no big thing. People thrived on gossip. So her colleagues more than likely had been waiting for them to go public so they could wait with bated anticipation for them to break up.

However, with what _almost _happened between her and Stefan on Monday and then what _could _have happened between her and Damon last week Friday, Bonnie wasn't feeling as comfortable in her skin as she used to. She was also aware that Klaus was upset with her. Bonnie meant to pull him aside and accept his invitation to be his date to the Nemeth Foundation, but she was having second thoughts about the intelligence of that.

She sighed.

Damon placed the canvas bag on one of the food tables and then backed away. He allowed himself one look in Bonnie's direction and stilled.

She was staring right back at him. He nodded his head and then disappeared in the masses. A speck of uniform black in a sea of fall colors.

Women were multifaceted beings. Damon had known that for a long time. They liked attention but hated smothering. They wanted to feel wanted but not like a brainless piece of meat. They wanted validation but also independence and to be seen as equals.

He deliberately didn't hang around Bonnie after their Friday night blunder. He saw it. The way her eyes lingered on his mouth, had heard the hitch to her breath when he said he wanted her. She might be with Dean, she might want a genuine relationship with him; however, she still wanted others to be attracted to her, to lust after her.

Damon was going to give Bonnie what she wanted but in small doses. The key was to show his interest and then behave as if he could care less they were standing under the same roof. Might have seem childish, but Damon was assured brutal honesty in his case wouldn't help his case, and he was his best and worst client.

Their small interaction hadn't gone unnoticed by Dean but he chose not to comment. He knew about Bonnie's field trip to Pembroke Elementary with Damon. She had only brought it up once when they ate lunch in his classroom and said it had been fun and nice. That was it. Fun and nice.

Klaus had been walking around extra salty which was partly amusing to Dean. Stefan…Dean eyed him speculatively. He didn't look as chummy as he used to, and he would even gander to say there was some kind of tension between him and Bonnie.

"Okay now with all of that being said," the sound of Miss Imogene's voice hijacked Dean out of his ponderings, "we've arrived at the moment of truth. The first name I'm going to call to be a judge in the eighth annual REL Blindfold Food Tasting Challenge, and it's not an indication of who's in first place for the MMF pageant is…Klaus Mikaelson!"

Klaus, with a herculean effort kept a straight face though he was cussing up a storm and repeatedly kicking a wall in his head. He walked through the crowd which parted and clapped. Someone had the audacity to pat him on the shoulder and wish him good luck. He scowled and took his seat.

The rest of the names called had come as no surprise. They were his brothers-in-arms in the pursuit of one Bonnie Bennett. With the exclusion of the chemistry teacher John Silver.

Damon, Stefan, and Dean all took their seats and were thus blindfolded.

Bonnie stood back and observed. This year she decided to participate and baked something. Being a culinary steward was something she enjoyed but neglected due to work constraints. Grams had constantly advised her: if you're going to step into a kitchen to prepare a meal for yourself or for family and friends always put yourself but importantly _love _into your dish.

She was mystery dish number four. She had prepared a wicked combination of chocolate and red velvet mousse with cranberry filling. Cassie had tasted a sample and nearly had a seizure. Bonnie knew she had been on the right track, yet added a layer of Godiva chocolate truffle shavings just for that special electric shock to one's taste buds.

The first dish up for judging was a usual staple: four cheese macaroni. The guys hemmed, hawed, chewed thoroughly before orally giving their score. Overall the macaroni scored a seven.

Damon was certainly turning this innocent game into something pornographic. It was bad enough the fucker was blindfolded which forced one's gaze to focus solely on his mouth that was surrounded by a five o'clock shadow. But it was the _way_ he opened that mouth as if a toe, nipple, or another sensitive body part was being placed in his orifice that caused quite a few ladies to blush and whisper conspiratorially to one another.

"Someone brought wine," a teacher stage whispered loud enough to be heard through the entire lounge.

"And it's the good shit too! I am _so_ going to get shitfaced," another teacher proclaimed amid chuckles and indignant snorts.

Bonnie whipped around and saw two bottles being pulled out of a canvas bag. When she refaced forward she caught Damon smirking. She shook her head and then her heart jumped because it was her dish's turn to be sampled and judged.

Kalley who was the official feeder began with John Silver using a clean spoon to dig into Bonnie's dessert that had been scooped and placed on individual paper plates.

John quickly sniffed the dessert which triggered a signal that made saliva come gushing like a broken dam. When the dessert was placed into his mouth, teeth scraping the plastic spoon he almost whimpered because he wanted more. So he rolled the mousse on his tongue noting the texture, the coolness, the vividness and sharpness of chocolate, red velvet, cranberry and if he weren't mistaken truffles melting on his tongue.

"Wowzers! I don't need to taste anymore I'm ready to name the winner!"

Upon hearing that proclamation the rest of the candidates began wiggling around impatiently.

Biting her lips and keeping her game face on, Bonnie shifted her attention to Stefan who was next. He accidentally yet on purpose let out a guttural moan that certainly did things to her lady parts when he tasted her dessert.

"Gotdamn," he cursed, "excuse me," Stefan immediately apologized, turned his head a little and whispered, "Jesus I've been blessed."

Officially tickled and ego stroked, Bonnie shifted on her feet. The next victim was Dean.

He warred on keeping a straight face but gave up the ruse and smiled. Not enough to show teeth, but enough where both corners of his mouth were tilted upward.

Dutifully, Dean loosened his jaws and wrapped his lips around the spoon holding something viciously sweet and effing delicious. "Mmm," he sat up a little straighter in his chair since the blood in his body wanted to rush south to a very specific appendage.

Bonnie marked his reaction and grinned. Pleased that Dean seemed to be fighting his body for control, her eyes shuffled over to Damon.

He plopped his mouth open, ate his spoonful and swore the minute it hit the back of his throat a unicorn trotted across his darkened line of vision. His left leg of its own volition extended. Damon didn't know what the hell was just placed in his mouth other than it being to closest thing to heaven he could think of. Shivering in pleasure, Damon didn't make a sound although he very much wanted to.

Kalley now stood in front of Klaus, sliced into the dessert with the spoon and brought it toward a pair of full, vermillion lips. Klaus devoured the treat as if he were sucking a delicate neck into his mouth.

A burst of flavor rattled his senses. It wasn't just sweet but told Klaus a story. Planted a vision in his head of a woman—preferably Bonnie, dressed in lingerie dipping strawberries into chocolate while opera music played in the background, or something romantically clichéd like that. Whoever made this certainly hadn't been playing around.

Taking a collective step back, Kalley eyed the judges who turned to one another though still obviously blindfolded.

"Can we go ahead and call the winner?" Dean asked. "I doubt anything could top that."

There were collective murmurs around.

Miss Imogene held out her hands to gain order of the contest since grumbles were growing louder from those whose dish had yet to be sampled, and especially from those whose food had already been tasted.

Bonnie ducked her head, cheeks burning.

"Now gentleman you have to taste _all _the entries," Miss Imogene chastised. "It's only fair. People have worked hard, slaved over hot stoves and ovens…."

"All right," Damon cut her off. "Serve up the next dish and let's keep it moving shall we."

Fifteen minutes later all the entries had been tasted but of course the judges hadn't changed their initial opinion. Dish number four was it, hands down, give the person a trophy and bragging rights until next year.

Miss Imogene stood in the mist of the judges' circle conferring with each gentleman. "Are you sure?" she asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes!" they barked in unison.

The woman's slanted eyes widened and she stiffly nodded her head. Dean and Stefan stepped aside to allow Miss Imogene to pass and address the rest of the staff.

She cleared her throat. "After careful deliberation the judges have reached a unanimous decision. The winner of the eighth annual REL Blindfold Food Tasting Challenge is….dish number four, a decadent chocolate and red velvet mousse prepared by…Bonnie Bennett!"

Needless to say the Mr. Mystic Falls candidates were floored Bonnie had been the one responsible for them nearly coming undone in front of an audience. Mouths began drooling again for another reason.

She was spotted hovering around the outer rungs of the crowd who turned to face her, clapping and offering congratulations. Bonnie demurely bowed her head and then was pulled by Kalley to the center of the room where she would be awarded with a golden spatula. What she always wanted, she thought sarcastically, yet maintained a gracious smile.

Bonnie didn't dare make eye contact with any of the guys though she could certainly feel their hungry stares glued on her.

"Thank you," she said once the spatula was slapped into her hand.

"Would you like to share your recipe?" Miss Imogene prompted.

Bonnie shook her head. "It's a family secret. I can't give it away."

"Oh, very well. Well, this concludes the contest. There's still plenty of food so please feel free to help yourself everyone."

"Crack open that wine!" Mr. Haskins the PE coach shouted.

With the excitement of the contest over and people's focus shifted to filing their empty bellies, Bonnie's short-lived victory meant she could slink back to the dredges of obscurity. Which she preferred. It had been awkward as all hell to have everyone staring at her. She was used to being viewed as a hard-nosed administrator that followed the rules to the letter. She wasn't comfortable with her character possibly being reassessed. But there was nothing she could feasibly do to stop anyone's opinion.

And it was just a stupid contest anyways.

A finger poked her shoulder and Bonnie turned to her right to face the culprit. She stood in front of the firing squad.

"Yes?"

"I think you have some explaining to do," Damon folded his arms over his chest. Now that he knew she was responsible he couldn't stop picturing eating Bonnie's dessert off her entire body. A muscle in his jaw flexed.

Bonnie looked at each male individually. Intimidating the way their pupils dilated and nostrils flared. One of her…four of them…the odds weren't in anyone's favor at the moment.

Bonnie presented her best beguiling smile. "A woman never cooks and tells," she winked and then sauntered away with heads turning in her wake.

* * *

><p>With her phone wedged between her cheek and shoulder, Bonnie stuffed her feet in a pair of socks while she sat in the middle of her bed, "I am such a moron!"<p>

"What happened now?" Caroline asked.

"That's the problem, Care…it's what didn't happen that's been driving me crazy all week. I'm in some serious shit."

"Well, you've come to the right person to help you straighten out your shit. Spill."

The green-eyed woman sighed heavily. How did one go about telling their best friend they couldn't stop thinking about four good-looking men servicing and stimulating her at once? By just telling her obviously. And Bonnie did so.

Silence reigned supreme for about ten seconds—a record for Caroline before she started squealing like a pig in mud for the first time. "Say no more. I am on the way. Packing my shit, the booze, and the weed."

Bonnie chuckled. "Caroline…"

"Nope, I need to see exactly what has you considering reenacting scenes from Saving Ryan's Privates. Love you! Off to go pack!"

Chapter end.

**A/N: It's time to add some additional estrogen in this. If you're a Stefonnie supporter it may look bleak, or even a Klonnie supporter, but hey things are far from resolved that's all I can say, and I want to do the various pairings justice but it gets tricky after a while. Thanks in advance for any input or feedback you'd like to leave behind. Until next time, love you! Oh and if any are curious if the food tasting challenge was inspired by Ian's appearance on The Talk, you would be correct!**


	10. Ducks in a Row

**A/N: Back earlier than usual. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I was a bit astounded so many are still interested in this harem fic of mine. Here is the latest, enjoy! *Lemons ahead***

Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

><p>The living room was blanketed in the glow of blue light beaming from the huge flatscreen television. A fire burned in the gas fireplace as she checked out the spread on the glass table. A big bowl of popcorn, a smaller bowl filled with roasted cashews and almonds, and beside it a bag of unopened Hershey's kisses waited to be devoured as two Corona beers dripped moister to the coasters underneath them. The last item on the table was a DVD case with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton on the cover holding up a bar of soap with the words <em>Fight Club <em>engraved in it.

A large presence filled up Bonnie's vision as Dean approached the couch where she presently sat, legs curled under her, shoes sprawled on the carpet. She smiled up at him.

It was hump day and though Bonnie reserved chilling sessions for the weekend, she decided to be a little adventurous and break her own rules. However, her mind kept wandering around, floating away to the incident that happened in her office a little over two a week ago. Since then Bonnie had been incapable of getting back into her skin as if boundaries hadn't almost been obliterated by Stefan's actions. She didn't know what bothered her more—the fact he nearly kissed her, that he was embarrassed and upset by her rejection, or that he admitted what she subconsciously knew that he had feelings for her?

Bonnie understood perfectly she couldn't control how someone felt about her. That was their issue, their personal problem. The only thing she was responsible for was her response. She spent more time than she should have convincing herself she did the right thing by not giving in, and that really should have been the end of it. Yet something still niggled in the back of her mind.

It had been innocuous at first and inconsequential, but that was blown to smithereens because deep down Bonnie was…disappointed.

What did this say about her? Here she was with Dean, a man she was very much attracted to, a man she liked, a man she admired, a man who made her smile, and reminded her without using words that she didn't need to take everything so seriously but yet her thoughts were stuck on her boss. Ugh. Bonnie had fun with Dean, but could they be more than occasional hanging out partners?

His shoulder brushing up along hers kidnapped Bonnie out of her reverie.

"You all right? You seemed like you were a million miles away just now."

Bonnie smiled, snuggled closer to Dean and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm good. Actually," she lifted her head, "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, babe?" Dean replied distractedly.

She warmed at the endearment. "Where do you see things going with us?"

Dean took his leaf green eyes off fiddling with the remote to stare at Bonnie. Her face was pensive, but she was wide open but also maybe a little guarded. He shrugged a brawny shoulder.

"I can tell you what I want to say or tell you what you want to hear. I know you have hang ups about getting too close to guys you work with. But if a feeling is there, that's not something you can run or hide from for long."

Bonnie averted her gaze and stared at the far wall.

"You and I," Dean continued, using proper English for once he thought ruefully, "we have fun together. If that's all you want, I'm down. If you want more, I'm down with that, too. There's no rush between you and me."

Looking up, Bonnie tilted her head to the side. "You mean that?"

"You know me, Bonnie. I only say the things I mean. I'm not gonna lie, though. I'd _love _to see you naked," he grinned devilishly.

She blushed in return.

"That's not all," the auto mechanic teacher sat the remote aside and placed his hand on Bonnie's thigh. Dean bit into his bottom lip while his eyes became heavy-lidded as they skimmed over her features. "I want to feel you. Every single_ part_ of you. Taste you. Get drunk in you. And I want you to feel me, too, Bonnie. Get to know where I'm soft. Where I'm hard. Get to know _me. _All you have to do is say the word."

Bonnie gulped, more than tempted to say that word right now. The seat of her panties received the brunt of her excitement as liquidated drops of her essence began to flow, leak out, and wet her underwear.

"Soon," Bonnie replied breathlessly.

"Soon," Dean repeated and kissed her full on the mouth. "What do you want? Is this okay with you? Where we are now?"

Bonnie thought of her answer before replying. "I won't lie. There are days where I want more, but there are other days where I'm satisfied with where things are between us. I've been out of the dating scene for a while, but I like spending time with you, Dean. I'm content."

"Content doesn't always equal happy," he pointed out.

"True. But it also doesn't mean miserable. At least now, moving forward, we can be completely on the same page."

"And that's all I want. To be on the same page."

Bonnie smiled then cleared her throat. "Good. Cue up the movie. I've been thinking about Brad's abs since you called and invited me to come and watch _Fight Club." _

Dean chuckled. "Should I be offended you rather drool over Mr. Jolie's abs, and not mine considering I'm a lot closer to you than he is?"

Bonnie stared up at Dean from underneath her mascara coated lashes. "You offering to model?"

"If you want me to."

"Lose the shirt," Bonnie ordered authoritatively.

Dean loved the hell out Bonnie's bossy tone. He fought and lost to keep the smile off his face. She gave him some room so he could slip his shirt off, revealing his wide bare chest and six-pack that contracted with each breath. Dean flicked his shirt to the other end of the sofa.

Veins protruded from his biceps and branched around his forearms. There was little to no hair on his chest, and his toffee colored nipples tightened and pebbled from the mildly cool air circulating in the living room.

Bonnie stared unabashedly taking Dean in inch by delicious inch.

She wasn't touching him, but could have been from the wanton heat beaming from her inquisitive viridian orbs. Dean's tongue poked out, just a tad from the seam of his lips to which he moistened.

His eyes never budged from Bonnie's face. Because of the room's darkness it was a bit difficult to tell if her cheeks were darker than her natural caramel hue. From the sound of her breathing, Bonnie was falling, tumbling blissfully to a land Dean happily wanted to follow.

But it would have to be her call, her move.

Bonnie relocated her gaze to Dean's shoulders, his neck, taking in his chiseled and slightly stubble covered jawline, the cleft in his chin. They made a pit stop at his pink lips—lips in which she had knowledge of how they felt against her own. Forcing her perusal onward, Bonnie swept past the pointy end of Dean's aquiline nose, followed the bridge to his evergreen eyes that gawked at her. Hungrily.

He blinked his sandy blonde eyelashes, spoke in a graveled voice, "You don't just have to look. You can touch. Wherever you want."

Blood pounded inside Bonnie's skull as she attempted to hold onto her composure. Unfortunately like sand in an hourglass it was falling.

Dean reached for one of Bonnie's hands, picked it up, and placed it on his shoulder. Lightly, as if he weren't touching her at all, he began to lead her on an exploration along his torso.

Bonnie's nostrils flared, her eyebrows arched. Dean was incredibly smooth and hot. Hot to the touch. He was hard muscle under sinewy skin. When the administrator swallowed the accumulating saliva in her mouth, it was audible.

Her fingertips bumped along his abdominals. Bonnie detected just the barest hint of a shudder from Dean when her fingers reached his navel. Dipped lower. Crashed into dark denim.

Dean's hand fell away from Bonnie's. He wanted her to take control of the wheel. He was perfectly happy with cruise control at the moment as his head fell back along the couch, and he slouched giving Bonnie better access.

He expected her touch to be filled with hesitation, but no. Bonnie's touch was bold enough for him to feel it, but light enough to tease and make him crave more.

Her hand moved lower, touching his leg, curved inward, and…

Dean groaned roughly when she found Plymouth Rock.

He wasn't as big as Bonnie expected, but what he lacked in inches, Dean certainly made up in width. He was _thick. _She'd peg him to be just a little above average, more than enough to get the job done if he knew how to utilize what he had. Her sexual encounters with Tyler, once they got past the awkward, done in two-minute phase, he learned Bonnie's hot spots, took his time, and grew exceptionally good at giving pleasure at their young age. There were only two guys in college Bonnie had sexual encounters with. One, she shook her head inwardly, had been such a fucking disappointment that she had to fake being a lesbian just to get out of continuing to see him since he wouldn't take 'no' as her final answer. The other…he had been older, knew what he was doing under the sheets, but had been way too controlling for Bonnie's liking.

She wondered what category Dean would fall into. Was now the time to find out?

Bonnie wasn't exactly sure, but she didn't put up a fight once Dean leaned over, took her by the hips and deposited her right on his lap.

Their lips instantly fused together, and she undulated against his hard on, causing friction that had the both of them gasping while their mouths battled for supremacy.

Bonnie only murmured when Dean's hands impatiently reached for the hem of her shirt and yanked it up. Her arms automatically lifted in the air, and her head fell back the second Dean's lips latched on to her fleshy mounds barely contained in her red lacy bra. She threaded her manicured nails through his blunt hairs, pushing his face deeper into her cleavage.

Dean pulled down a cup and popped a ripened nipple into his mouth, laving it with his tongue. She tasted fucking sweet, smelled sweet. He throbbed so hard it was like his dick had a migraine. How many nights had he resisted rubbing one out while thinking about having Bonnie this way? Too many to count, and here they were. Patience was indeed a virtue that paid off in Dean's estimation.

Her mewls spurned him on, her high-pitched sighs gave him direction, and Dean obeyed.

He lowered Bonnie to the couch, movie all but forgotten, as he lavished her other breast with the same nefarious attention. His teeth clamped town on her nipple and pulled causing Bonnie to cry out and arch her back.

"Dean," she groaned like she was in pain, and she was. Her womb felt heavy in her abdomen, and her panties were completely drenched.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked huskily.

"Kiss me."

Dean kissed a red hot trail up the valley between Bonnie's breasts, and once he reached the mountaintop, slanted his mouth over hers.

Their tongues dueled, massaged the other in an erotic display, a prelude of what could happen and very shortly between their genitalia.

Bonnie ended the kiss, smirked mischievously. "I didn't mean for you to kiss me there."

Dean smirked, "Then allow me to correct my mistake," he headed south.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Bonnie walked as normally as she could. However, the pep in her step refused to be stifled.<p>

_Dean kept his eyes focused on her face as he blindly and expertly unbuttoned her jeans, pulled the zipper down. He grabbed her by the back of her thighs and pushed her legs up until her knees nearly touched her chest. Reaching for the end of jeans he pulled them off until her legs were free. _

Earbuds lodged in her ears, Bonnie hummed along to the tune playing from her iPod. She normally didn't do this, but this morning she made an exception. Plus, Bonnie was afraid if she didn't willfully distract herself, the goofy grin fighting for the right to assemble on her face this very instant would give her away.

A few students loitering on the quad before homeroom stared at her strangely, as she bobbed her head to the beat and snapped her fingers.

_Large male hands ran along her thighs headed north, and when they converge on her center, Bonnie laid her hands on top of Dean's, and together they removed her underwear. The sound of his groan heightened the moment and raised the bar on Bonnie's feminine pride. _

"_You're fucking gorgeous," he exclaimed, made some adjustments on the couch while Bonnie widened her legs, giving Dean a better, unobstructed look of her dripping wet center. _

Sweeping into the office, Bonnie ignored the cacophony and madness unfolding around her. It was a usual scene. She stopped at the mailboxes and retrieved the pile of mail filling up her cubby. Bonnie flipped through the pile sifting for junk that would make its way to the recycle bin. Her hips moved from side to side and then back and forth as the heavy Jamaican beat pounded through her entire system. Several people peaked over the tops of their cubes to see, disbelieving it was _Bonnie Bennett. _Dancing. In the morning. Period.

_The sound that escaped between her lips when Dean's thick fingers touched her most sensitive spot was embarrassing, but Bonnie didn't care. Other than her touch, she had gone a _long_ time without any kind of stimulation, and she shuddered uncontrollably as her eyes closed to maximize the feeling. Dean wasn't going straight for the kill. He traced the shape of her with his thumb, and torturously penetrated her folds, circled her clit. The gushy sound of her wetness filled the airwaves, and Bonnie thrashed her head on the leather sofa. _

"_You're gonna make me come just by fingering you, Bonnie." _

Containing a shiver and biting unmercifully into her cheek, Bonnie retreated into her office amid the widened eyes that followed her every move.

Stefan witnessed it all. He stood like a fossil momentarily, but then remembered where he was and scurried to his administrator's office. He filled up the threshold and silently watched as Bonnie shed her jacket, her movements haphazardly sensuous revealing the black turtleneck sheath with leather patches on the elbows that stopped a little below her knees, and shamelessly hugged her frame showing off every curve. On her feet, a pair of red bottoms sure to give any straight man within a mile radius a stroke.

Forgetting about his blunder and attraction to Bonnie would be so much easier if clothes didn't look so damn good on her.

_Unable to take it, Bonnie arched her back and begged, "Please, Dean."_

_He sunk his fingers deeper once more, removed them, and replaced them with his thick, spongy tongue. _

_She didn't even last a second after that. _

Her face was one fire. Bonnie plucked out her earbuds and tossed them on her desk. In her periphery, she saw a shadow and whipped her head toward the door. Bonnie pressed a hand to her chest, and stifled a scream.

"Stefan! Hey, what's up?" Bonnie maneuvered around her desk.

"Good morning," Stefan cleared his throat, told his eyes not to follow the enticing jiggle of her ass. "I know you're just getting in but there was something I wanted to discuss with you."

"Okay, come in."

Stefan did and closed the door. He strode toward one of the two visitor chairs and had a seat, cleared his throat again, and scratched his nose.

Bonnie sat down in her seat and booted up her system. She briefly glanced at her boss unable to read Stefan. A first. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"What I wanted to discuss with you weeks ago, but there had been the fight between Tripp and Henry and…" Stefan trailed off. "Anyways, you know in January, Vice Principal Lockwood and I usually attend the Future Leaders in Education Conference in DC. Well, Carol won't be able to attend due to a prior commitment the weekend it's being held. I was hoping you could take her place."

Bonnie heard the words and was slow to respond. She had never attended the conference held annually in the nation's capital and certainly never with Stefan. A couple of weeks ago, Bonnie would have jumped at the chance, now she was exercising restraint.

"When do you need an answer by?" she asked.

A small piece of Stefan deflated Bonnie hadn't outright accepted the invitation, though he couldn't blame her for erring on the side of caution mindful of what happened between them the last time he stepped foot in her office. Stefan wanted to reassure her nothing like that would happen ever again, unless of course she initiated it. Yet from the way she danced in front of the mailbox it was apparent Bonnie had a rather good night.

With someone else. Namely, someone who wasn't him.

Stefan ruthlessly stuffed his anger away. "At your earliest convenience. The earlier travel arrangements can be made the better. Just let Kalley know. All right?"

"Okay," Bonnie nodded and studied her boss for a moment.

Stefan was decked out in one of her favorite suits. The graphite one with a light sheen that almost made him appear as if he were about to walk down a red carpet and accept a Best Actor award. Not a hair was out of place in his perfectly styled mane, clean shaven, the wintry scent of his aftershave filled her nostrils and her mind with pictures of Stefan in a plaid shirt, jeans, lugging around an ax.

With nothing else to say, Stefan rose out of the chair fighting off a smile. Bonnie had so just checked him out and seemed pleased. He ran a hand down his solid black tie. "I'll see you later, Bonnie. I hope you decide to come with me and keep me from being bored to death at this conference. Kai Parker from the Gemini Academy is supposed to be the keynote speaker."

Principal and administrator shared a look and then chuckled quietly. If Damon was known as a douche on an average day then Kai Parker was the one he took notes from.

"I'll let you know by the end of the week," Bonnie promised. "Oh, I have something to ask you."

"What?"

"Caroline Forbes, remember her?"

Stefan nodded, "How's she doing? Gotten married or had kids yet?"

"Not yet," Bonnie hedged. "She's coming into town this Friday and is throwing a cocktail party. Do you want to come? She's the only person I know who rather throw her own party than let someone do it for her."

"Sure, I haven't seen Caroline in years. It'll be good to catch up."

"All right, I'll tell her to text you the details when she has everything set up."

"Cool, all right let me let you get to work."

"Have a good day, Stef."

Smiling, Stefan exited her office feeling as if some small semblance of normalcy had returned between them.

* * *

><p>Eight hours of aborting one crisis after another was done. Eight hours of fielding complaints and calls from parents, and pulling aside certain members of the staff were now behind her. She wasn't wearing a tie, but Bonnie did pull at the collar of her dress thankful her administrative duties were finished, and she was one day closer to the weekend.<p>

Doing her final rounds before heading back to the office to pack up for the day, Bonnie heard the sounds of a familiar song playing from the art studio. Curiosity made her change direction and head toward the closed double doors.

Gently nudging one door open, the haunting voice of Banks as she belted out the tune "Brain" smacked Bonnie right in the face. She expected to find the art teacher Lauren Evans straightening up the studio, but her eyebrows skyrocketed when that assumption was destroyed by the man standing in front of an easel.

Bonnie didn't say anything to make her presence known; merely stood back and surveyed as Klaus lost himself to whatever vision was in his head that he lolled from side to side.

She watched his play of muscles under his thin navy blue sweater as he dipped his brush into paint and the corresponding brush strokes that followed. Her eyes lowered a smidgen to take in his black jeans and boots. Even from the posterior, Klaus was physically appealing.

Bonnie suppressed those thoughts, switched the weight on her feet. Out of all the candidates in the pageant she could admit to not making that great of an effort to see or even participate in whatever community service project Klaus had pledged his commitment to. If she were to be fair she'd have to extend him the same courtesy.

Klaus sensed someone standing in the room with him. He glanced over his shoulder, saw that it was Bonnie, and turned to face her head on.

"Yes?" he inquired coolly.

Bonnie was a bit taken aback by his tone, but reminded herself Klaus was an extraordinarily proud man, and she hadn't exactly made herself as available to him as she did others. A tiny pinch of guilt ransacked the administrator. Not like it was her fault or even intentionally done, but well…Bonnie still wasn't sure how to take Klaus. Maybe it wasn't too late to salvage things.

He continued to stare—challengingly. Positively curious about her being here, but no less…pleased. Though he really rather not be. Bonnie was, after all, only a woman and women were a dime a dozen. True, she was only a handful of quality woman he could say he had struck up an acquaintance with, and the only one he really wanted to get to know, but that didn't mean Bonnie had to be privy to any of that.

Besides her hands were tied and she had very little shame in letting everyone else know. His lips tightened in memory of the times he saw Bonnie gallivanting with Dean.

"I heard the music and decided to be nosy. I'm assuming Lauren is gone for the day?"

Klaus nodded and refaced the easel.

"What are you working on?" Bonnie hesitantly drew closer. She really wasn't used to being straight up ignored. At least not by anyone over the age of eighteen.

Klaus made a noncommittal motion with his shoulder. His art always erred on the side of abstract existentialism, a series of strokes that conveyed his deepest thoughts better than any word in the six languages he spoke fluently. It was never just about painting his interpretation of an inanimate object, or making a 3D replica of a landscape. Art was his security blanket, escape from reality. His confessor, his therapy, his best friend. In a lot of ways, a selfie into the inner workings of what made him the person he was today.

Bonnie stood a little behind Klaus now, peeked over his shoulder. "I've always wanted to delve more into art. Go to some fancy school in Paris, be taught by a master."

Those words "taught by a master" made Klaus miss a brush stroke. He cleared his throat. "Masters are overrated. They want you to learn their techniques and regurgitate it, but to me that's not original or being a true artist. It's about going with whatever you're feeling and expressing that with only the bristles of a brush. How dark to make a line, where to shadow, where to leave something to the imagination, in my opinion it's led by intuition and nothing else."

"Can you show me?"

Again, Klaus faltered with his brush. He regarded Bonnie as she stared up at him.

"Why should I?" he groused, _"You've done nothing but ignore me" _he was so close to adding.

"Because I asked you nicely. I could be a bitch."

"And how do you know I wouldn't find that side of you…appealing?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I guess anything is possible where an aristocrat is concerned."

"Shush," Klaus puckered his lips and covertly glanced around the empty studio. He leaned closer to Bonnie who didn't budge an inch. "That's one of my trade secrets I've had to shell out a fortune to keep under wraps. I'll give you a free tutorial if you can name one impressionist painter besides Monet."

Pouting, Bonnie braced her hands on her hips and tapped her foot on the linoleum flooring. She thought for a moment. "Oh, that's easy. Marie Bracquemond. Her husband was a hater and pretty much did what he could to undermine her recognition as an artist because of her chosen style of painting a la impressionism."

"Well…" Klaus floundered for a moment, impressed and chastened. "I guess you've earned a lesson," his voice dropped in octave, became a whisper. "You're going to need to get closer."

With some shuffling of feet, Bonnie stood in front of him. Klaus passed his brush over to Bonnie, showed her the proper way to hold it.

There were only inches separating her back from his chest, the top of her head coming no higher than his cheek even with those gotdamn sexy shoes. Blinking several times to rid the fog entering his brain, Klaus, with his hand curled around Bonnie's led her arm closer to the canvas.

Together they breathed life on a flat, unimaginative surface. Literal body heat rose between them which they both diplomatically ignored. Occasionally his lips brushed against her temple. The sensation of Klaus' grizzled jaw coming into contact with her flesh made Bonnie hold her breath each time it happened.

"This would be the part where I'd say with the bravado of a man who's spent more than half his life drawing and painting that there is no brush, it's you who paints, but the only time I sprout pretentious bullshit is when I want something from someone."

Bonnie chuckled. Klaus smiled victoriously.

"Instead, what I'm going to tell you, Bonnie is that technique doesn't matter. Getting an image just right isn't as tantamount as leaving whatever you're feeling on the canvas. This is your journal. Your diary. Your story. What do you want to say? How do you want to be taken?"

Hmm, that question Bonnie was pretty sure meant how did she want her art to be interpreted, not a literal taken as in naked with her legs in the air.

Regardless, she experienced a rush, a flutter of sorts that began in her belly and ended in her toes.

At first Bonnie had no idea what they were creating but she could sort of make out a shape, a shape of man. Whenever it was time to clean the brush and dip it into another color, Klaus closed the gap of space between them until he was pressed flushed against Bonnie. His left hand found a resting place on her waist and through the thin material of her dress, he felt her hipbone, her body heat, almost the texture of her skin.

This moment was therapeutic, slightly erotic—the front of his thighs touching the back of hers, her ass slightly burrowed in his crotch, and given their location, completely inappropriate. For once Bonnie didn't give a damn about keeping up appearances.

"Am I doing this right?" Bonnie looked at Klaus for reassurance over her shoulder.

"You're doing fine. Like I said, art isn't about being perfect. At least not in the traditional sense. What's perfect to you may be imperfect to someone else, or even abnormal. It's your vision and no one can say if your vision is right or wrong."

Nodding, Bonnie returned her gaze back to the canvas. But she did take covert peeks at Klaus, his lips always filling up her view. God, they were so red. So puffy.

"My friend…" she said to disrupt the aching silence, "Caroline, she's coming into town on Friday and she's throwing a party. Would you like to come?"

"Yes, I'd very much would like to come."

"Okay," Bonnie squeaked and let go of the brush. In a tactical move she stepped away from Klaus needing the distance as much as she needed a full drop of oxygen.

He smirked as his hooded aqua eyes gleamed. Her nervousness was fetching.

"The last time I tried to ask you this you were whisked off by that Lothario, Damon Salvatore, and seeing as he's not here at the moment, and I have you to myself I can ask you this. Would you do me the honor of attending the gala at the Nementh Foundation as my date?"

Bonnie's knee-jerk reply was a resounding 'no.' Complications could spring up, hell they already where, but…she recalled what she said to herself earlier about giving Klaus a fair shot. Not a shot at her heart, but to get to know him. As a candidate. For Mr. Mystic Falls.

"Y-yes…I'd be honored to go with you, Klaus," she beamed, though tremulously, but beamed nonetheless.

Klaus wanted so badly to paint her exactly like this wearing some haute couture gown or even better, nothing at all. Instead he allowed the pleasure of Bonnie's acceptance to be his date to course through him warming Klaus in dormant places. He actually had to put some effort into not smiling too goofily.

Just then the door to the studio opened and the student who stepped inside halted and stammered, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Mikaelson…Miss Bennett, I can…um…come back later."

Klaus was two seconds from roaring and snarling, yet he remembered that wouldn't be a good look, nor help his case.

"No, that's all right, Aaron," Bonnie addressed the student. "I was just leaving," she looked at Klaus. "I'll see you later. Thanks for the lesson."

"My pleasure."

It took a second for Klaus to realize he wasn't the only one boldly staring at Bonnie's ass while she sashayed out of the studio. He cleared his throat _obnoxiously _snapping Aaron out of it whose cheeks blazed over at having been caught ogling.

Klaus pointed at the back of the studio where the supplies were stored. "Hop to it. We don't have all night."

* * *

><p>In another part of REL, one teacher was ready to rip all of his gorgeous raven hair out strand by strand.<p>

It was a simple exercise. It really was. All the students had to do was fill in the world map, and it didn't surprise Damon they couldn't even do that simple task without making a mockery of it.

He suppressed his need to belly chuckle when a student marked Russia as Winterfell and Ireland as The Shire. Damon took a perverse amount of joy in scrawling a big fat "F" across the top of the page, but did credit David Meister for being creative.

Rubbing his burning eyes, Damon flicked his pen on his desk before slapping his palms flat on the surface. "Fuck this, I'm going home."

Collecting a pile of papers he probably wouldn't look at again until it was absolutely necessary, Damon crammed them into his satchel, grabbed his trusty leather jacket thrusting his arms into the sleeves. Pulling his keys from his pocket, Damon scanned the room to make sure everything was in order.

Satisfied, Damon hurriedly rushed to the door, hastily extinguishing the light. He nearly collided into Bonnie once he stepped out into the hall.

She pushed strands of hair that whipped in her face at the wind Damon created when he abruptly 'appeared'.

Both of their eyes went wide. Damon was the first to recover and of course offered up his customary cinematic smile that—in his humble opinion—should grace magazine covers. Bonnie returned the gesture at a much more leisurely pace. An awkward silence converged between them that Damon definitely wanted to swat away like a gnat. So he fell back on his idea of charm.

"Do I need to write you up for running down the halls?"

"Ha," Bonnie muttered dryly. "Heading home? I'm surprised you're still here," she checked the time on her watch. "It's almost five!"

"Should I take offense to your tone?" Damon squinted. Bonnie merely laughed.

The two of them began to advance down the deserted hallway.

Damon leaned over some, not exactly invading Bonnie's personal space but close enough. "You know this job is more than just a paycheck to me."

She craned her neck to stare up him dubiously. "Is it?"

"Yes. Like someone said to me in a rant once, I am a role model whether I want to be or not, and I'm shaping impressionable young minds which means I have to lead by example. Or something to that effect. Let's just say those words _finally _got through and…I may be a bit behind on my grading. You should penalize me," he grinned naughtily.

Damon waited for Bonnie to deliver her usual dismissive eye roll, but when he received nothing but another smile, this one smaller and shier, he almost tripped over his own two feet. He discreetly looked her over. The dress she wore made her curves no secret, those gotdamn shoes on her feet didn't help rescue his mind from the gutter, even the way she…moved like she understood her body and the effect it could have if she tweaked it a certain way, it was different.

Damon blanched once he reached the obvious conclusion to Bonnie's…openness for lack of a better word.

He refused to go there. Subtle changes could mean a number of things. Still, Damon wanted to test the waters, his theory.

They turned another corner, preceded down another empty hallway. REL seemed so cavernous when devoid of noisy and cantankerous teens and teachers. It was a bit eerie. Weren't horror films made in a vast number of high schools? It made cinematic sense to Damon since there was no other creepier and scarier time for a person than navigating one's way through high school.

"You know, Bon_nie_," Damon drew out the last syllable in her name, "ever since the food tasting competition I've tried recreating your _wickedly sinful _little dessert, and I'm pretty good at discerning ingredients, but I'm stuck. I was wondering if you might have pity, show some mercy and let this southern bred Eye-Talian boy,"—Bonnie shook her head—"in on your secret," he picked up Bonnie's hand, curled both of his around her appendage, and brought it up to his chest. "Please."

Bonnie stopped walking. Damon stopped as well. They shifted until they faced one another.

"What's in it for me? It's a family recipe, which means it's a family secret. And I can't just give away that kind of a secret."

Damon brought Bonnie's captured hand to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles, one at a time. He never took his burning gaze off her. "The currency I deal with comes in the form of back massages, foot rubs, a full course meal, and…other accommodations sure to make your toes curl," his eyes twinkled scintillatingly.

Shaking her head, Bonnie slid her hand from Damon's grasp. "As tempting as that offer sounds, and believe me, it's _real _tempting, unfortunately my lips are sealed. I promised to take that particular recipe to my grave." Bonnie patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry."

Bonnie had gotten halfway down the hall before the sound of Damon's voice stopped her.

"I'm inclined to believe you really don't like me."

She faced him. "What gives you that impression?" Bonnie folded her arms across her chest.

Damon stomped near petulantly toward her, the sound of his boots reverberating off the walls. "It's just a feeling. It's not anything you've done outside of exhaling harshly and rolling your eyes a million times when having to deal with me. I understand and don't fault you for not taking me seriously as an educator because," he shrugged self-deprecatingly, "most of the time I don't take it as seriously as I should. Can I blame that on poor leadership?" he smirked.

"Now see, Damon, you almost had me on the edge of my seat that you were about to say something profound, and you ruin it by turning it into a joke. Don't concern yourself if I like you or not because trust, if I didn't, you'd know. And to show you I have no ill feelings toward you, Damon, my friend Caroline is throwing a party this Friday. I'm inviting you. What you do with this olive branch is purely," Bonnie poked him in the center of his chest, "on you."

She began advancing down the hall backwards. "Enjoy your night, Mr. Salvatore."

Damon couldn't wax the smile off his face even if the Karate Kid was standing right next to him.

"Have dinner with me?"

"Can't," Bonnie now stood at the front office doors. "I have plans."

Of course she did, Damon narrowed his eyes and made his 'day late and a dollar short' way out of the building. Something was going to have to give and soon.

* * *

><p>In her office, packing up her materials, Bonnie thought over each of the guys, the invitation she laid out at their feet, and wondered if she had done the right thing.<p>

Her situation with Dean took a huge leap forward so that pegged the question of: was she leading the others on by inviting them to Caroline's shindig though it had been her friend's idea? Doubt began gnawing at Bonnie's insides. Her life had been devoid of any real excitement or passion for _months_ that had nothing to do with the complications of working at a high school. Yes, she was grown and could feasibly do what she wanted, yet entangling others in her web: would that be smart or prove to be detrimental?

Large hands encroached on her waist, and the scent of citrus filled her nostrils. A smile bloomed on the administrator's face.

Bonnie's head fell back and bumped against a brawny chest no doubt covered in plaid.

"Ready to get out of here?" Dean maneuvered around the impediment Bonnie's hair caused to lay waste to her neck with kisses.

Containing a moan of pleasure proved futile and Bonnie let one rip. "I'm ready if you are."

A hard rod prodded her in the buttocks. "Don't say that, Bonnie. I might get your words confused and…bend you over this desk."

Looking at Dean over her shoulder, Bonnie stood right on the cusp of telling him to do just that.

One step at a time.

Chapter end.

**A/N: Good news, I already have most of next chapter written, and I think after that I may go back to writing individual chapters where it's just Bonnie having alone time with each of the guys one-on-one. Not sure how dirty I want this to get or with whom, but if it feels right, I'm going for it. Oh, and things won't be remaining amicable between the guys. Not for much longer, anyhow. Thanks, loves for reading. Don't forget to drop me a line. **


End file.
